White Wave
by whitetiger91
Summary: Legends are just that: legends. What should one do then, when they start to come true? Follows the untold story of Jennifer Gold, a half-blood witch from Australia. She must learn to accept her family history whilst navigating life as a student in the magical world.
1. Prologue

A/N: Hi everyone, I'm back! I've finally finished university so now I will have more time to update my story. I apologise for the long wait; apart from uni and family commitments I've decided to regroup and restart my story. I am posting the prologue to it for you now as a sneak peak of what is to come; no longer will the story be based on anyone in particular I know (with the exception of a few inspirations) and will be written in third person. I will post the new chapters ASAP under a new story with the same title 'An Australian Witch'. A big thank you to my followers and favouriters, I hope you like my second attempt (which will be very similar and follow the same idea) and thank you to my reviewers for giving me better ideas as to how to make this story make more sense. Enjoy!

**Prologue**

_There is a legend amongst the oldest wizarding families that in certain generations there were born extraordinary wizards and witches. It is uncertain exactly what these children were able to do; their powers were rumoured to have varied in each century, useful for fighting whatever plagued their community at the time. It is believed they were destined to carry on their family's honour and ideals. As time has passed, these whispered stories have become no more than mere folklore. Few families have chosen to keep the legend alive, selecting to hide it from all but those they feel worthy to learn of the secrets of the past._

**-2014-**

"Are you positive it's her? You couldn't have mistaken it for someone else? We can't afford to make the same mistake again."

"Take a look for yourself, she matches the description, well, minus the seaweed and sand."

Peering over the fragile, pale form that had washed up on the shore, Andrew wasn't sure he was ready for further disappointment. His team had been searching for over five months and so far had only gained false connections. Still, he allowed himself to bend his aching knees to get a closer look at the most recent find.

What was once shiny and silky, long, salty and tangled dark hair fanned out across the young woman's face. Specks of sand were spread throughout the knotted tresses. Tipping her head slightly he noted how her thin, white lips were parted slightly, almost as though she was attempting to whisper a secret or promise. If it wasn't for the slow, gentle rising and falling of her chest beneath the soaked material pressed to her skin he would have surely claimed her dead. Taking a deep breathe of his own he leaned closer and gently tried to pry open her closed eyes.

"Don't, I've already done that."

His partner, a young woman in her thirties with mousy blonde hair, quietly assured him as she crept closer. She had been the first to appear at the scene after being alerted by a local man who had been walking his golden retriever.

Andrew threw a disgruntled look towards her. He hated being interrupted in any of his investigations.

"Fine, take a look if you still don't believe me, but I can tell you now they are a perfect colour match. Both 'sea green with undertones of golden brown and navy', I'd eat my own hat if I found any others like them." Folding up the crumpled parchment she had quoted, her expression turned slightly more serious as she ensured no one else in the group could hear their private conversation. "There's more. I took these off her before they came in case we were to be tracked ourselves."

Shuffling her back so that only Andrew could see she opened her palm. There, glittering in the sunlight were three golden objects; two rings with rubies, one locket, all in the trademark shape of a heart. Rubbing his tired eyes he almost missed Melanie placing them back into her pocket quickly.

"What about the boy? If she's here so should he."

"No sign yet but we'll keep searching."

"I'm still not sure if I want to believe this, not after so long-"

"I'm still having trouble myself."

"-but you know what we have to do."

By now his heart felt lighter and he truly believed he may finally get some sleep. If he were to trust his team then it may very well be that they had found the girl who had eluded them (and so many others) for so long. It would be a relief to their entire cause if they were correct. Calling to a man who had just apparated to the beach he prepared for the next step,

"Owl Bill. We've found her."


	2. Chapter 1

**New beginnings**

**_Disclaimer: _**_As with the previous chapter, I do not own anything to do with the Harry Potter series except for my OCs. Anything you recognise is owned by the wonderful J. K. Rowling, to whom I own my childhood. Thank you!_

**_A/N:_**_ Hi everyone, here is the first chapter of my second attempt. I really hope you like it. I have written it in third-person as I found it difficult to capture the voice of a ten-year old. Even so, I am drawing on my own experiences and (somewhat poor) memory of what I was like at that age, so please forgive me if it doesn't sound too realistic- I'll try my best but it will become easier as I get to the later years. I have also had to fudge dates a little (as you have probably noticed) for the same reason as I think it is much easier personally to write from my own experiences of what happened in those years- plus, on the bright side it may or may not help give hope to those who wanted the story to occur ten years later than the books. My previous version of this story left some very important details out so I hope to cover as many changes to cannon (which it will follow- with a different P.O.V to the golden trio soon, I promise) as possible, like why an Australian is accepted into Hogwarts._

_Thank you for reading this! A particular thank you to my first reviewer, SnowAngel99 who has given me the courage to continue; for your support I am releasing this chapter early. _

**~13 years earlier, 2001~**

It was never easy for Jennifer Gold to go back to school after the holidays. She was determined to squeeze as much fun into this fortnight as possible. Sure, she missed the adventures she had with her friends, climbing trees in the school playground (avoiding getting caught of course) and playing tip. However, she missed her cousins more.

Almost every July and September school holiday she would travel six hours by car with her four siblings and parents to the remote town of Warren in western New South Wales. It was somewhat of a tradition. Whilst the adults would sit in meetings in her grandparent's house, she would have an opportunity to hang out with her cousins. Sometimes this would involve testing new joke products that two of her cousins managed to get when they travelled to Japan, other times it would be that they snuck out to a remote property to watch the older children play Quidditch. Having over thirty cousins (not to mention ten aunts and uncles on her mother's side) there were plenty of people to play on the rickety old brooms that were stored behind a gum- tree in an abandoned paddock. It never mattered that they were one of the very few wizarding families in Australia. Although she was too young to play she never got bored watching the fast- paced game that often lasted through sunset.

"Jen, come and help get the groceries in will you?"

Snapping out of her current day- dream, the eleven-year-old lifted her head from her desk. She had been thinking about the next visit to the country where she would finally be allowed to study with her cousins and siblings. Not having a magical school anywhere near where they lived, her cousins and two older sisters would be home- schooled for between two to six weeks on what the family deemed the most important subjects: charms, transfiguration, potions, healing and magical history. In between playing games they would also be required to learn physical and magical defence as taught by some of the uncles who had become muggle policemen. Training began at age eleven when other wizards and witches would be attending their first year at a wizarding school. After the holidays each of her cousins would be expected to return to their muggle schools or jobs. The family believed that with the first wizarding war over and little-to-no magical activity occurring in Australia, there was no point in completing any magical work other than what would allow them to carry on the magical bloodline. Wands, books, cauldrons, brooms and other equipment would be purchased annually in a small shop in New Zealand by one aunt or another.

Only two of her cousins had ever attempted to study at an actual school of magic. Lisel, who was nearing her twenties now, had been invited to attend an academy in Europe having been born when her parents were touring the continent. Jack, a cousin one or two years older than herself, was to attend another school for the same reason. He had always dreamed of Hogwarts or Durmstrang yet had declined in order to stay with his mates.

"Jen!"

"Coming!"

Sighing heavily, she picked herself up and slowly made her way to the front door. Opening it she found her mother clutching a bunch of envelopes between her teeth whilst both arms were piled with three overflowing plastic bags each.

"Here honey, take this one, it's the lightest."

"…thanks."

She hated when people often under-estimated her, particularly her physical strength. It was always the same story; no one would let her carry anything heavy and would laugh at her if she offered to open up a particularly tight- sealed jar of peanut butter. She was seen as the baby of the family even though several of her cousins, and her brother and third sister, were younger than her. It wasn't her fault that she was a little short and more on the skinnier side because of a non-existent thyroid. Even at school many of the older students would say that they could "snap her like a twig" if she tried to stand up for herself or a friend. That was not to say that they weren't right about her strength; she couldn't lift many things even if her life depended on it. However, she knew she was capable of more than people knew.

Placing the various items on the kitchen cupboard, Jen took her place on a nearby stool, swinging her legs as she awaited her mother's attention.

"I think I have everything packed- toothbrush, clothes, camera… Mishka… my pyjamas."

Marie Gold didn't miss the insert of her daughter's cat's name in the list. Without skipping a beat she firmly replied, as she did every holiday,

"Mishka isn't coming with us, you know that. The journey is too hot and long, plus if we take her we'd have to take the others and you know there'll be no room."

She paused for a minute knowing her daughter's routine response.

"-but I promise I'll remember to bring her litter tray and-"

"No."

"Please….."

"No."

"I'll have plenty of water with me and cat-chow and "

"No."

This went on for another few minutes before she decided to start sifting through the pile of letters. The trouble with her daughter and herself was that they were both equally stubborn. It must have been a middle- child thing. Both females were born in the middle of the year and were the middle child of a middle child. It was no surprise then that her own mother was born in July and as head matriarch of the family was responsible for making the decision to home-school each child despite some resistance. Sometimes it was a good thing that the women stood their ground but more often than not, as was the case in this instance, it became annoying.

"Go up to your room, make sure you've left out some clothes for tomorrow and get William a suitcase out of the cupboard please."

Muttering a few minor obscenities under her breath, Jennifer knew better than to challenge her mother further. It wasn't worth losing any television privileges over nor did she really want to put her familiar in any danger out there with her aunty's dogs. Plus, she decided, she could always save a win for when she wanted a chocolate bar or magazine later that week.

"Hold on…"

Curious, she turned around mid-step. It wasn't like her mother to change her mind. Thinking that she would actually get her own way after all she smiled happily and skipped back into the room. The smile vanished upon seeing her mother's own thoughtful frown.

"This can't be right. You're not from... Wait here."

Her mother was muttering whilst reading a piece of creamy paper. As she left the room to find her husband, Jennifer picked up the envelope that had been discarded on the cupboard surface. On the front she immediately recognised her own name neatly scrawled in emerald- green ink: 'Miss Jennifer Gold. The front bedroom with the always untidy floor.'

It must have been one of her friends writing her a postcard from their holiday or a letter describing their already- found boredom. After all, they were the only ones who had ever been inside her bedroom apart from family members; even her sibling's knew her bedroom was spotless in comparison to their own tips. So why had her mother taken off with the contents?

From the hall she could hear her mother and father's muffled voices. Curious, she attempted to tip-toe to their bedroom door to listen in.

"the Summers are different… schedule… age just about right…"

"Halloween….didn't think"

"no denying it…"

Unfortunately the wood of the door blocked out any of the hushed words from making sense. Thinking it would be a good idea to not get caught eaves-dropping she turned to go back to the kitchen just in time to hear the lock click and handle rattle.

"You may as well come and sit in here, we have a change of plans it seems" her dad sighed.

Wiping the grin off her face knowing she would find out after all Jennifer turned back and slipped through the now open door. Bouncing slightly as she sat on the thick bed cover she resumed her habit of swinging her legs. Hesitating for a moment, both parents looked to each other to decide where to begin.

"Your mother and I have something to tell you."

Never in Jennifer's life had this really been good news. When she was six, this had been to tell her that they were planning on moving to another state (which thankfully never eventuated). She had cried for days thinking that she would lose her then best friend of two weeks. The previous year she was in more tears after her siblings had all been sat down to discuss the euthanasia of their beloved kelpie; this again did not exactly occur where the poor dog seemed to know time was up and left in a natural, peaceful slumber that night. She did not want to know what this would be.

"Well, how to put this…" her mother seemed to falter under her daughter's now worried green gaze and let her husband continue.

"You aren't coming with us to Warren-"

"I already agreed I wouldn't bring Mishka!"

"Let me finish. Now you aren't eleven until next June and you know that most wizards and witches aren't seen fit to learn magic until the correct age…"

So this was it. She knew it was too good to be true; anything she looked forward to always seemed to include something negative. This time it appeared she would have to wait yet another year whilst her cousins and siblings enjoyed their lessons.

"…but it appears that you have been accepted early into Hogwarts. We, that is, your mother and I, can only guess that this is due to their different holiday schedule where your birthday would be considered to be at the end of the school year rather than calendar year. We will check those details later-"

"Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Did you say I'm going to Hogwarts?" She didn't even bother hiding her surprise or growing excitement.

"Yes. Now as I was saying…"

"Can I bring Mishka? Is Anne going? What about Jack, will he be there this year? How am I getting there? It's on the other side of the world! Can I please tell Caitlin now? Oh but I don't have a wand…"

"Hold on!"

"Shush! Let your father finish!"

"Oh, sorry." The smile that was rapidly growing on her face seemed to suggest anything but her sorrow for interrupting. Nevertheless, she ceased her jumping around the carpet that had begun at the mention of the famous school.

"Let's hope you can behave more lady-like at school and listen." Although her father sighed impatiently, he was inwardly relieved at his daughter's acceptance of this news. To be truthful, he initially thought she might have preferred to stay in the comfort of Australia where family she knew and trusted would be.

"If my mother seen you now she would tell you to sit up and cross your legs." Her mother, too, was happy for her daughter.

"Now let's sort this all out. I assume you're wondering why you were accepted into Hogwarts when you live here?"

"Not really." As only an eleven year old would, all she cared about at this point was that she was going to a magic school.

"Well, the truth is your mother and I had been touring Britain when we conceived you. Er, you do know what conceived means, right?" He added this last part with a slight red tinge to his cheeks. He was heading into his wife's territory with this conversation.

Jennifer looked stricken. Having a number of older cousins and sisters meant that she had an extensive knowledge of the adult world, at least for what an eleven year old would need to know before entering puberty. She did not need to go into this right now. Thankfully her mother decided to take over.

"What your father is trying to say is that we were in England at the time we decided to have you, around Halloween I think. Anyway, as a result it seems that your name was placed on the list of magical children eligible for an education in Europe. I will send an owl shortly to confirm this but in the meanwhile we need to start planning, you will be starting in a few weeks."

It was a rough morning of goodbyes and promises to keep in regular mail contact. Jennifer had finally managed to push through a crowded airport full of weeping women hugging their spouses and children wailing from the constant noise of jets departing and landing and was now seated on a plane bound for England.

The previous two days had found her running around the house collecting all she thought she would need for England. This was harder than she thought; wanting to make a good impression and for once make a fresh start as someone who could be considered 'popular', she could not decide which clothes to bring. Anne, her older sister by two years, was no help, reclaiming various clothing items and refusing to depart with essentials; gold hair mascara and nail polish from the _Sabrina Secrets_ magazine collection they shared. She did not miss the irony of obsessing over a television series featuring a muggle version of a teenage witch. Her own familiar, Mishka, had been sent over to England the day before with an uncle and cousin. With all the packing she left no time to think about how she truly felt about her change of luck.

She ran through the past few days in her mind in an attempt to sort it all out. She was a little disappointed to find that she could not tell her friends, especially her best friend Caitlin, where she would be going. She wanted to share in the wonder and excitement of her life, though admitted that she would be better off having no one at her primary school know just yet. Talk in the small town often spread faster than the speed of light and she did not want anyone thinking she was weirder than they already did. It wasn't that she didn't trust her friend, more that there were already rumours that she was some other-worldly being when her eyes obviously changed hue with different emotions and her love of swimming in the middle of winter. Not that her absence from school would change that.

She definitely wasn't looking forward to returning to school for a few weeks at the end of the year; as part of the condition of her acceptance from Australia, the ministry had declared that she would be required to keep up with all her muggle studies lest she had to return home for an extensive period of time before she reached seventeen. After her mother had written to the Hogwart's school board and principal (or headmaster, the term Jennifer would soon have to adopt) to confirm her placement, she was told of this condition. It applied to all non-European students who attended any British school of witchcraft and wizardry as an assurance to the muggle leaders of the loyalty of their youth to their countries. At least this would present her with an opportunity to keep in contact with her friends.

On the other hand, she was looking forward to attending a proper school of magic. Lisle would have many stories about how wonderful it was to meet other young witches and, in particular, wizards. She never allowed herself to get jealous of these stories knowing she was unlikely to ever have the experiences herself. She was a little nervous about how many students would be pureblood and worried that she would not be easily accepted if they formed the 'in-crowd'. She knew from some history lessons she attended in Warren that her family had once been a proud, pureblood family as related to William the Conqueror himself (a medieval king to the muggles, noble pureblood to magical folk). It was not until the time of settlement that the family began to diverge and marry muggle-borns (and in a few controversial cases for the time, muggles). It was not a hidden fact that some purebloods thought themselves better than other wizards. She was thankful that she had yet to come across such wizards and witches in Australia. She certainly wasn't ashamed of her heritage; although her grandparents held traditional values and assured their class, she knew they had nobler intentions.

Thinking of family she sighed. She had never really been away from her family for long. The longest she could remember was the school camp of a few weeks back in which she was surrounded by close friends and too busy having fun to be homesick. Her mother never really let her go away for too long as it was due to her poor track record. When she was little she had apparently wondered into the waves on a beach holiday; another time she gained a scar above her lip by falling over the fireplace of a family friend's cottage. She knew she would miss her family, even her little brother (though she would only ever tell him that under torture).

Sighing again and turning from the sky-filled window, her aunt (who had obliged to depart a day later and show her the way to The Leaky Cauldron, the pub in which Jennifer would be staying until the time that she would be escorted to the station) smiled.

"Are you ready for your new adventure?"


	3. Chapter 2

**All aboard the Hogwarts Express**

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the world of Harry Potter, all of which belongs to the incredible mind of J. K. Rowling._

Jennifer sat on the clumpy mattress in her hired room at The Leaky Cauldron, absentmindedly twirling her wand in her small hands and ignoring the glares of her fluffy grey and white Persian (whom had been sprawled upon the bed since before she had arrived). The few days since arriving in London had passed by in a blur. After her aunt had left to reunite with her children and husband (after providing her with some funds from her new Gringotts account), she had wasted no time in exploring the dusty hallways of the inn; the parts that she was permitted to enter that is. Even the barman, Tom, knew better than to give in to her mischievous smile and glowering eyes and allow an underage witch to frequent the bar below the rooms. It didn't matter though for as soon as she had finished traipsing around the place and got sick of peering outside the window onto the street below she was let loose on Diagon Alley. Tom had generously provided her with a hand-drawn map as to which shops she best visit and avoid. The map was somewhat difficult to decipher yet allowed her enough information to successfully navigate the area and get what she needed.

Unfortunately, the excitement of entering the street soon lost its appeal. After purchasing her wand (11 inches, reddish-brown oak and unicorn hair core) and feeling a strange shiver course through her body as the wand produced red sparks, the other wonders of shops soon paled in comparison. That was not to say that she didn't enjoy cooing at the owls and cats at Eeylops Owl Emporium or admiring the well-kept broomsticks displayed in the Quidditch supply store. Rather, she began to feel nervous as the time for her to travel to Hogwarts drew near.

Standing up, Jennifer decided she would check her appearance one more time before dragging her heavy trunk down the stairs. The mirror her room had was a small, round silver piece held in place with a fixing spell atop the room's dresser. The object had once been spelled to shout insults or compliments at the user. For once she was thankful that something in the shabby room was covered in dust. Staring into the smooth glass she winced at her reflection. The small scar above her lip shone whiter than usual, reflecting its curved edge against her pale skin. Her eyes too appeared more on the green side today as though they could compete with the colour of a cat's. Most days she was proud that no one else in the world quite had her eye colour; sure, many people came quite close with their hazel orbs, none, however could match her own. It was what she thought made her special, particularly amongst her many cousins who mostly had blue or hazel eyes. On days like this, however, all she felt she wanted was to fit in with the other students. At least her long, light brown hair remained straight enough to avoid looking like a frizz ball. She had once considered dying her hair blonde to look like the more popular girls in her grade; unfortunately, this did not go down too well with her traditional grandparents.

Deciding it would be best to just leave it be, she gathered her remaining bits and pieces from around the room (including one black sock that somehow had managed to find its way in the corner of her bed sheets)and headed downstairs.

"Everything packed? Books? Robes? Breakfast eaten?" Tom greeted from behind the bar, wiping a goblet with his favourite grimy clothe.

"I think so. What time are we leaving?" She didn't think she had the stomach to consume the eggs and toast that Tom usually supplied each morning.

"In a few minutes, just waiting on that Diggle fellow to come back." He wheezed.

Jennifer was not happy when she first found out how she was getting to the train station. At first, her aunt was supposed to quickly return from her trip to escort her. Unfortunately, she had run into some trouble and would not be able to get back in time. This left a somewhat heated debate about how she would travel. Her aunt agreed with her (via owl) in that she did not feel comfortable with apparition; she often had nightmares about splitting an ear or a leg in the process based on what she had heard of the tales told by her eldest sister. She also did not like the idea, due to her quiet nature rather than shyness, of travelling with a strange witch or wizard. Ideas about using ministry transport and the flu system were brought up and rejected due to cost and resource availabilty. Eventually it was decided that she would simply use muggle transportation in the company of her aunt's friend Dedalus Diggle.

The wizard himself appeared not a moment later, dabbing under his grey top hat with a handkerchief.

"Sorry I'm late, sorry. Got held up at the ministry trying to sort out a different method of mail delivery to the offices. Owls get a bit messy, you know? Oh! This must be Victoria's beautiful niece, how do you do young lady?" Gripping Jennifer's hands, he shook them vigorously before turning his gaze to her luggage.

"All packed? Right, well we best get off. Bit exciting, isn't it? Exploring the muggle roads? I'll be back soon Tom for a quick bite to eat."

Before long, the pair found themselves hurtling through the streets of London in a shiny, black cab.

"I've always wanted to travel in one of these! It's very small but so comfie to sit on!" Diggle's enthusiasm for all-things new (or rather, muggle) helped to quash some of the uneasiness that had been plaguing Jennifer. This did not last long however as she slid out of the car upon arriving at the crowded station.

"I'd best be off now, back to work. Will you be alright? Its platform 9 ¾, you shouldn't miss it. If you get stuck just look around for another family, I don't imagine too many muggles will be wearing cloaks or carrying trunks at this time of the morning." Pulling her trunk out of the back of the taxi and avoiding a swipe from Mishka threw the carry-case she was in, he added "well it was a pleasure meeting you, say hi to Vicki for me will you?"

"Thank you sir, I will."

With a slight bow, he was soon back into the cab and disappearing down the street. As the wind whipped her hair across her face she hurriedly moved to find a trolley. Once accomplishing this small task, she set off to find platform 9 ¾. Surprisingly, there did not appear to be other wizards or witches around. Many of the people who were there consisted of flustered mothers balancing small children on one hand and grocery bags in the other and men in crisp business suits talking animatedly into their mobile phones. After spending almost fifteen minutes walking around platforms 9 and 10, she began to panic. Why wasn't the platform there? The ticket definitely said 9 ¾; she had checked at least five times on the way. Even Dedalus had confirmed it as he said goodbye.

Just as the tears began to well in her eyes, a girl appeared. She looked to be around the same age as herself, perhaps one or two years older. Her dark hair was tied up into a ponytail and, like another girl with blue eyes and mousy brown hair who seemed to be following her, was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Both girls were giggling about something.

Straining to hear what they were gossiping about, she picked up a few pieces.

"I can't wait until the next world cup! Did you see Yanovich? Wow!"

"I know, those muscles! Speaking of which, did you see Oliver earlier? Talk about change! I love Quidditch even more now."

Well, that was exactly the cue she was waiting for. These girls were either witches or muggles had finally caught onto the popular sport. Gathering as much courage as she could muster she quickly wiped at her face with her sleeves and walked up to them.

"Excuse me. Hi, um, I'm new, well a first year, do you know how to get onto the…"

"The Hogwarts express?" One of the girls asked eying the trunk.

"Yes, that's the one."

"Sure. If you'd like-"

"There you are! C'mon girls, the compartments are filling up quick." A curly-haired boy in jeans and a striped sweatshirt had appeared alongside two identical tall boys with fiery red hair. None of them seemed to notice the smallest of the girls as they greeted their friends.

"Yeah we want to show you-"

"our latest goods-"

"before mum finds them."

To say the least, it was difficult keeping up with the conversation between the red heads. They wasted no time in dragging away the girl with mousy-brown hair leaving her friend waving apologetically as she stayed behind. Without hesitation all four of the group ran at a solid brick wall between platforms 9 and 10 before vanishing through it. Jennifer blinked rapidly to make sure she wasn't hallucinating.

"Sorry, you'll get used to the twins. My name is Katie by the way, 2nd year. I'll help you get through if you'd like, I know my first time onto the platform was a bit crazy." Katie was looking down at the small girl, smiling inwardly knowing what she must have been thinking.

"Thank you, that'd be great… are you sure it's safe?"

Laughing, Katie grabbed the girl's hand and, holding her own trolley in her left hand, started a quick sprint. Luckily the girl was fast enough to keep up for as they gained momentum and hit the wall more muggles began filling up the station.

"Wow."

"I know right? Watch out for the people coming in behind you. I trust you can find a seat now? Er?"

"Oh, sorry, Jennifer. Jennifer Gold, or Jen, whichever you like."

"Well there you go, you have one friend already. I'm in Gryffindor so hopefully you'll be sorted there. I'm sorry, I have to go and make sure Fred and George don't blow up anything!" Katie was already sprinting away having spotted the two red hairs leaning over a wriggling box that the curly haired boy was hugging to his chest, leaving Jennifer once more by herself.

All around parents were waving to students of all ages, shouting out at various faces to remember to write and to not get into trouble, again. As she knew no one would be there to see her off or to tell her to brush her teeth every night, she hurried to the train hauling her mountain of luggage behind her. Crumpled up in her pocket was both her acceptance letter and train ticket in the event that a ticket inspector would require her to prove that she was a student.

She began to wander through the aisles, peering into each compartment as she went. Most compartments contained students who were much older than herself. Some were reading quietly whilst others shrieked as the deck of cards in front of them exploded. She had come across Katie in one compartment but did not want to disturb the conversation she seemed to having going with several other girls. Many of the girls were pretty and if she was going by looks and clothes alone, she would have assumed they were all popular. Shaking off the thought that she would never really understand fashion and hoping that her own black top and jeans were good enough, she concentrated on finding somewhere that was empty.

Before long the train screeched, and with one loud blow of the whistle, it slowly pulled out of the platform. Unaware that she had spent so much time walking she quickly wrenched open the nearest compartment door and sat down. Too late she realised it was already occupied.

"Oh, hi, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to barge in like that. I can move out if you want?"

There was a brief pause as the girl already sitting in the compartment looked up. Her eyes tailed over the brunette's clothes and hair before directing their attention to the girl's eyes. Jennifer wasn't sure why this other girl was looking over her and felt a slight blush rise to her cheeks. The girl herself looked to be about the same age. She had a medium figure (on the skinnier side) with blue eyes and blonde hair that was tied back in a stylish braid. Based on their darker colour her robes were brand new as were here highly polished black Mary-janes. Finally, she seemed to give her approval as she replied.

"That is quite alright, I'm Daphne Greengrass, pureblood. I judge from your accent that you are not from around here?" Her smug tone seemed to match the way she emphasised her lineage.

"I'm Jennifer Gold. No actually, I was born and raised in New South Wales, although my relatives from way back were British."

"Interesting, so an Australian? Are both your parents magic?" if she didn't know from the way Daphne's eyes narrowed slightly, she wouldn't have guessed that she was second- guessing herself.

"Yes, at least I think so. My mum comes from a long line of witches and wizards but my father's side is not quite so well known. I'm half blood." Inwardly sighing, she guessed she was about to find out one of her fears of whether or not blood status was an issue in Europe.

"Decent. Pretty locket by the way, what does the pattern mean? I have a silver bracelet with my family crest on it, see?" Sure enough, on her outstretched wrist was an ornate bracelet with a chain consisting of multiple, delicate links. On one smooth part there was a large 'G' carved amongst a swirling pattern inlayed with tiny sparkling emeralds. It was beautiful.

"Oh, thank you, yours is very pretty. Is green your favourite colour?" Daphne simply sniffed at this part. "I've had this since I was born" Jennifer fingered the gold heart around her neck, wondering how much information to divulge. "The patterns are supposed to resemble water, or waves, like my name meaning 'white wave' and it is supposed to match my signet ring." Pointing to her ring, she continue, "it also has wave patterns and a ruby to remind me that I was supposed to be born in July not June and well, they bought it early. Both are supposed to have small protection spells on them but I'm not sure how well they work."

Daphne was eyeing both golden pieces. It seemed that this Australian girl might have something else in common with her.

"Well I'm sure you'll fit in here and learn the ropes quickly. Care for some cauldron cakes? My mother stuffed my bag with them but I'd prefer to wait until the feast."

Although she wasn't sure about her attitude, Jennifer quickly grew to like this slightly pretentious girl. It was even better that Daphne did not detest cats where she went so far as to offer Mishka a few mince pies her mother had also pushed on her to take. The girls spent a couple of hours talking about their lives. Dapnhe had explained that she lived with her two parents and could not wait until she was old enough to attend balls. She wasn't sure whether or not she wanted to be in Slytherin or Ravenclaw but knew many of her friends were destined to be in Slytherin. Jennifer shared some of her adventures in the outback and told of the friends she had left behind (the blonde listened politely to this last bit, hoping that her new friend simply befriended muggles as there were so few witches and wizards in Australia).

After forming a friendship the girls were interrupted by a bushy-haired girl demanding that they find a toad. Behind her stood a plump boy with rosy cheeks, puffing from the exertion of looking for his pet. Jennifer felt a little sorry for him as he appeared as though he would like nothing more than to cry; she knew she would have hated to lose Mishka. Daphne meanwhile did not seem impressed.

Before the girls could even address the new arrivals, the door opened once more to reveal two identical girls of twin heritage and a rather tall, lanky boy.

"What are you doing here? You obviously don't belong, and no, I don't care for your toad Longbottom." The boy spoke, glaring at the first two interrupters.

With a huff and a shuffle, the girl and boy left allowing the twins and boy to slide through the door way and sit down.

"Hi, I'm Padma and this is Parvati, we're twins, as you can tell?" More twins? Is this a wizard thing? Jennifer seemed to be the only one to pick up on this detail.

"I know you, your father is part of the British/ Indian embassy. Hi Daphne, sorry I'm late, Malfoy was busy already finding new people to either torture or suck up to. You, I don't know you. I'm Theodore Nott, pleasure."

As Theodore sat down next to Daphne with a questioning look, Jennifer stared into his cold, dark eyes. Something told her that he was another proud wizard, and although at eleven he was charming, she wasn't sure she was comfortable being there.

"I'm Jen, nice to meet you all. And yes, before you ask, I'm Australian."

At this Theodore shrugged and started speaking to Daphne amicably. She was sure she heard the words "blood status" tossed around quietly but did not want to think about it. The other two girls squealed and began their own round of interrogation, this time about the topic of 'Aussie fashion'.

After a few more hours of playing exploding snap, talking non-stop about our expectations, and finally getting our robes on, the train pulled up. It didn't take her as nearly as much time to find her bags, gather Mishka off Nott's lap or depart the train. Stepping off onto the platform she tried to keep up with the twins in the confusion of the dark. They seemed to think it was a good idea to follow the booming voice of a half-giant who was swinging a golden lamp over the students' heads. There was small comfort in the way the man's beady, black eyes crinkled in a friendly manner.

The students were soon led onto the shore of a vast, icy, black lake. A number of small wooden boats were pulled up and it only took a second for many of the students to realise what they would be doing. She was thankful that neither Padma nor Parvati appeared to be the type of girls who would willingly tip the boat into the cold water. Theodore, on the other hand, seemed to be smirking at two other boys nearby, leaving Jennifer to sidle closer to the twins.

"Four to a boat!" Roared the half-giant, who one boy called Hagrid as he greeted him, as two students began arguing over a seat.

Gliding over the lake, her eyes fell upon the breathtaking castle walls of what could only be Hogwarts. To be the best of her knowledge, she had never set foot anywhere so incredible. A few years ago her mother had shown her a book containing images of Kentwell Hall in England that the family had once owned. Despite the manor's marbled floors and the presence of magnificent armour standing guard in each room, her new school could easily outmatch in size alone. Dragging her eyes from the wondrous building, she noticed that both twins had their mouths open and their eyes were starry. Justin, another boy in the boat who did not say much, was gently leaning to one side as though he wanted nothing more than to run into the castle and never come out.

Before she knew it, they had landed upon the shore and were being herded into a small room inside the castle. As suspected the inside was just as glorious as the outside; even the ghosts floating cheerfully around the room and paintings on the wall seemed to take pride in their home. She pitied the students who weren't used to seeing pictures move beyond videos; growing up as a half-blood had its advantages on both the muggle and wizarding sides.

"Oh great, the prat is at it again." Theodore spoke from behind her, making her jump slightly.

It appeared that he was referring to a boy with gelled, bleach-blonde hair and stormy grey eyes as he spoke down to a boy with the same bright red hair and freckles as the twins Jennifer had met previously that day. With him was a scrawny boy with green eyes, jet-black hair and, as he turned slightly, a red scar on his head. It didn't take her long to realise that he must be Harry Potter, the famous boy-who-lived. He was her cousin Michael's hero; for several weeks he even took to drawing a lightning bolt on his head in red marker as he ran around the house, mouthing made-up spells whilst waving a liquorice wand. Needless to say his mother would force him to scrub the texta off each time, checking to see that it wasn't her red lipstick he was using. Unfortunately, as she went to take a closer look at the scene a woman in a dark green robe with hair pulled back into a tight bun ushered the students towards the large wooden doors.

Whether it was out of nervousness or a means to ease her frustration at her failed attempt to fulfil her curiosity, she started laughing as the poor boy she now knew as Neville Longbottom collected his escaped toad Trevor. The stern witch who introduced herself as Professor McGonagall luckily did not notice; the blonde boy, however, she was speaking, he sidled over to the small group she was standing with.

"Nott" he nodded a greeting to Theodore who returned it with a smirk, "who is this?"

"I'm Jen, and these are Parvati and Padma." She felt better to include the others.

However, he barely acknowledged them and, with a slight bow, said "at least make sure you know who is the better wizard to hang out with, unlike that Potter" before being interrupted again by Professor McGonagall.

"If you are ready, let the sorting commence."

With that, the large oak doors began to open and it was time for Jennifer and her small group of friends to find out where they belonged.

_A/N: Thank you to my latest reviewer and to everyone who is reading this story! I hope you enjoyed this last chapter. If you haven't already read my first attempt at this, these questions will apply to you (or if you have, they may still apply): Do you think Theodore is someone to worry about? What house do you think she will be sorted in to? And more importantly, what do you think of Jen? Once again I apologise if she doesn't sound too much like a ten year old; for those who are wondering, Daphne, Nott, Malfoy and co. all know each other from childhood and yes, they are already starting to care about blood status (as Malfoy says to Harry in the first book in Diagon Alley). If there is anything important you want to know that I may have left out, such as explanations, please let me know. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter __J_


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

**Sorting it all Out**

**A/N: Firstly, only the amazing Rowling owns the world of Harry Potter;I will not profit from this in any way. Secondly, I have edited this so as to avoid confusion about her age. I'll make her eleven as usual and go back and fix the past chapters- it was more a thought for later parts of this story. Also, dates will be changed too. I have had to alter the dialogue at the end for this reason so I really hope it makes sense and that I have been able to explain the whole Aussie invitation thing a little better. A big thank you to everyone who has reviewed and to the amazing Twi for giving me inspiration with ages! Please enjoy :)**

The hall erupted with applause as the scruffy old Sorting hat finished its annual song. A collective sigh of relief from the small students lined up towards the side of the hall could be heard by those nearest them; evidently that had finally realised that they would not be required to fight dragons or battle trolls, as were rumoured initiation traditions.

Professor McGonagall waited at her usual post in front of the stool on which the hat was perched. As part of her exemplary organisational skills she had already perused the list of names. She was reassured that Harry Potter's name appeared this year and, scanning the nervous new faces, smiled inwardly at his presence. She had doubted the ability of his guardians to uphold the values she expected parents to have when raising children. The sound of the students' raucous laughter and clapping soon died down. Clearing her throat, she explained the process of the sorting and proceeded to call the names of the newest first years.

"Abbott, Hannah!"

"HUFFLEPUFF"

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF"

"Boot, Terry!"

As each student timidly came to the front and was sorted, she wondered how many would be in her own house. She liked to watch these students in particular; after all, as head of Gryffindor she would be responsible for their welfare and would need to know what they were like. It also allowed her a small comfort to know that there would be some students who could uphold the pride of Gryffindor; every year, without fail, she could pick the troublemakers amongst the lions.

Back in the decreasing line, Jennifer bit her lip nervously. One by one the students walked to the front and seemed to be easily sorted. Catcalls and whistles from the tables designated to their new houses welcomed them. She wondered whether or not she would receive the same treatment, hoping that she would have at least one of her new acquaintances in her house.

The table draped in red and gold starting clapping enthusiastically as a sandy-haired boy, Seamus, was finally sorted.

"Gold, Jennifer!"

It probably took her just as long to realise that her name was just called. Feeling her breathing turn shallow, she took a small gulp before adjusting her back so that it was straight. Her grandmother always told her that a lady must stand tall at all times, regardless of the situation. With the aim of keeping her chin up and not tripping over in front of everyone, she may her way to the stool.

Any grace that she had managed soon evaporated as she sat upon the stool. Whilst she was only slightly shorter than the average girl, the inability of her feet to touch the ground made her feel even smaller. She was glad for the distraction of the old hat slipping over her head.

"Ah, what do we have here? Welcome! It's been a while since someone of your bloodline was sorted. An Australian version though, hm, how interesting." She had jumped at the sound of the voice penetrating her head.

"A bit quiet are we? No matter, let me sort you. Mm, ah yes, you do have a natural curiosity and an ability to pick up things quickly, but would not seek knowledge for the fun of it. Timid yet friendly you would do well in the house that aims to please, but the cunningness and pride in you makes me think otherwise. No, I was right with my first thought. You are like your resilient ancestors; just ensure that your bravery and loyalty do not make you foolish. I've made my choice, better be-

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted to the awaiting hall, leaving her with heart-palpitations at the sudden change of tone.

Not wanting to waste time, she quickly strode to the table from which Katie and her friends were clapping and waving.

"Well done! I was hoping you would be with us. Did you manage to find a compartment alright? Well, obviously you did, you wouldn't be sitting here otherwise."

"Katie, give the girl some time to breathe. Hi, I'm Alicia, I play on the Gryffindor quidditch team with Angelina" she pointed to a girl sitting opposite her "and Katie. We're all chasers and Oliver over there" she turned her finger towards a rather handsome-looking brunette boy sitting a little down the table with another fiery red-headed boy "is our captain."

"Hi."

"Oi, what are we? Chopped liver?" One of the twins from earlier in the day was pouting at Alicia, though it did not appear he was really hurt. Katie giggled as Alicia rolled her eyes.

"I, my dear, am George, and this handsome-devil is Fred, although I must say I am much better looking." The second twin who was sitting next to his brother continued with a lopsided grin. "Oh, and we musn't forget our amazingly, absolutely, brilliantly talented partner in crime, Lee."

A boy with a cheesy smile and pearly white teeth waved from his seat next to one of the twins. As the twins began to bicker about whom in fact was the best looking, Jennifer chanced a glance at the students standing in line. The bossy, bushy-haired girl with large front teeth who was helping Neville look for his toad was taking her place on the stool as a large boy made his way to the table adorned in green and silver. Scanning the line's length she saw the Patil twins talking animatedly to each other as Daphne seemed to huff in annoyance, stomping a foot impatiently on the marble floor. Draco was busy glaring at a smiling Harry. Moving her eyes a little closer to the door from which they entered the hall, she met eyes with Theodore Nott. His cold eyes bore into her green eyes; the rest of his face was kept blank. It was an unsettling feeling that lasted much longer after he abruptly broke the gaze and watched as Daphne walked to the stool.

Not liking the fact that she had already managed to annoy someone, she shifted her body slightly and continued watching the ceremony. It didn't take long for the sorting to conclude with the last student, Blaise Zabini, taking his place amongst his Slytherin housemates. She had clapped politely as each nervous first year became a slightly more happy student, displaying a little more enthusiasm as some became Gryffindors, including the one-and-only Harry Potter. As Daphne had mentioned on the train, the students were delighted with a massive feast that magically appeared on each table as the headmaster (Albus Dumbledore, who despite his comical appearance and odd mannerisms, as Jennifer soon discovered courtesy of one of Katie's friends, was a gift to the wizarding world with his many brilliant causes) clapped his hands.

Truth be told, it was a little overwhelming meeting so many new faces that evening. She had the pleasure of conversing with a few of the ghosts (though did not like the icy feeling as she foolishly attempted to shake her house ghost's hand) and gained a long-winded history of the rivalry of the Gryffindor and Slytherin houses. Percy, the boy sitting next to Oliver and another one of the Weasley brothers, dominated this particular conversation before embarking on the quest to inform anyone who would listen of his ideas regarding the school rules. She noticed that the only person who seemed to be listening was the bushy-haired girl who was bobbing her head up and down every five seconds. She panicked momentarily thinking that perhaps she ought to know what not to do as to avoid a detention, yet gave up just as Ron (you-guessed-it) Weasley started pulling faces behind his brother's back.

As the night wore on she felt her eyes starting to droop. She, along with the younger students, had already stifled a number of yawns when Dumbledore asked the prefects to lead the students to their dormitories. Rising slowly, she prayed that her tired legs would carry her fast enough as to keep up with the other first years.

Percy appeared a little pompous as he proudly strode the hallways and moving stairs, looking down at any student who was not walking like they were his second shadow. He came off as someone who thrived in a position of power and expected all who knew him to adore his success. Nevertheless, if it weren't for him, Jennifer was sure she would have gotten lost back in the entrance hall.

The group had come to a halt in front of a portrait of a well-built woman in a pink, silk dress. She was humming to herself as she looked expectantly at the newcomers. Dramatically, she swept one hand holding a lacy white tissue across her body.

"Now I will only say this once, so please remember. You need a password to get in." Stepping forward, Percy looked directly at the portrait. "_Caput draconis."_

As soon as he said those foreign words, the lady gave a small nod and swung forward, opening the door that she was concealing. A hole centred a little off the stone floor was revealed and behind it the first years could just make out a few scarlet lounges.

Percy gave a loud huff as he realised his knowledge of the new password didn't appear as impressive to the children as he thought it would. He climbed through the hole and waited for them to do the same. He'd be better off going straight to his room and preparing himself for his classes the next day.

"This is the Gryffindor common room. It contains two dormitories where you will sleep. Girls are to the left, boys to the right. Curfew for first years is at 10.00 p.m. sharp. You will also spend, I'm sure, most of your time in this room studying." Percy looked around at each face, staring pointedly at Ron. When the message didn't appear to sink in, he gave another audible huff and stormed up to the staircase on the right.

Most of the students stood gazing around the room as others shuffled their feet unsure of what to do next. Jennifer was one of these students, not sure is she should go ahead and attempt to find her room. She wondered whether or not the rooms would be divided individually or if she would be required to share a room; after all, she had only just been given access to her own bedroom after years of having shared it with her older sister Anne. She opted to become familiar with the common room whilst hoping that someone would go ahead up the stairs.

Looking around her, she immediately realised that the room emitted a warm, friendly atmosphere. A large brick fireplace was the feature of one side of the large, circular room's wall. It emitted loud crackles every so often as a low amber flame glowed amongst the coals. Quite a few scarlet armchairs were placed around the room surrounding several low wooden coffee tables. In one corner, underneath an arched window, stood a small table with several books stacked on one side. Around the room red and gold banners adorned with large 'G's and lions hung, demonstrating the obvious pride the students in this house had for their team.

She was in the middle of scanning the patterns on one of these banners when the portrait hole swung open once more, emitting the older students. She had not realised that she had been distracted for so long when she noticed that no first years seemed to be around anymore. Moving to the spiral staircase that Percy had indicated earlier, she bounded up the steps, soon coming to a wooden door. She tried to rack her brains to remember which room Percy had indicated was theirs to no avail. Timidly, she decided to try the door, prying it open a little bit to see what was inside.

Around the circular room she found several four-poster beds, each with their own set of opened scarlet velvet curtains. On each of these was placed a trunk at the end headboard along with a neatly folded red and gold scarf. One of the beds had a sleeping ginger cat curled in the middle of the soft scarlet blankets. A tattered piece of parchment was affixed to one wall, proclaiming to belong to '7th year Gryff girls'. The number six scrawled in red ink had been hastily scratched out by the black ink forming the 7. Backing out, she closed the door softly so as not to disturb the slumbering occupant. The room had none of the girls she had seen earlier, and hence must have belonged to the 7th years. Assuming that this meant that each year had their own room and were placed in order, she hurried to the top of the stairs, peeking in at the next empty room to confirm her hunch.

Pausing at the top (perhaps her common room was located in a tower?), she listened to the muffled voices penetrating the door. She was a little unsure of her willingness to share a room with a group of people. She panicked at the thought that she might snore or do something else as equally embarrassing in her sleep; her sister often teased her that she was not an angelic sleeper, despite her friends reassuring her otherwise at school camps. On the other hand, she could think of the year as a gigantic sleepover and an opportunity to make even more friends. It was this optimistic thought that pushed her to enter the room.

It looked just the same as the other rooms she had peered into, with the exception of the absence of the 7th years' poster and ginger cat. The room had four four-posted beds with scarlet curtains, where one in the middle had her trunk upon it. Mishka was sitting on the made covers, flicking her tail impatiently as two girls sat on one bed talking loudly. As soon as the door was open she sprung off the bed and pranced to it, giving her mistress a quick sniff before making her exit. Three sets of eyes turned towards the newcomer.

"Jen! I'm so glad someone I know is in my house! Padma is in Ravenclaw, I can't believe they separated us!" Parvati jumped up from the bed she was sitting on and enveloped her in a tight hug.

"Well, I'm here now." She smiled a little awkwardly, not expecting such a high level of enthusiasm even if the girl was like that on the train.

"This is Lavender, her bed's right next to yours. Oh we're going to have so much fun this year!" She squealed, pulling her by the hand over to a sandy-blonde haired girl who was also sitting cross-legged on the bed.

"Hi, so you're what, Aussie was it? Parvati told me about everyone. It's a pity her sister or the others aren't with us." Her light, watery-blue eyes shone with just as much enthusiasm.

"I wonder if any of the guys in our year are cute. Did you see Harry Potter? That Dean boy looked alright." She gushed on, Parvati nodding as she crossed the room to her bag on the next bed.

From it she pulled a bright orange, lacy scrunchie and proceeded to tire her long, silky black hair back into its braid. Not for the first time that night Jennifer jumped in surprise again, this time as Lavender squealed in delight and rummaged through her own luggage.

"I have that hair clip in pink!" She shouted excitedly, waving it around in the air.

Personally, Jennifer thought they were both rather ugly looking hair-ties, but decided against voicing these thoughts. Lace wasn't exactly her thing, neither was anything with ruffles, yet she expected the girls wouldn't appreciate her honesty on this matter.

"Do you mind keeping it down? Some of us are trying to sleep." The curtains to the bed on the other side of Jennifer's tore open, revealing a rather disgruntled bushy-haired girl.

Noticing what the girls were talking about, the girl rolled her chocolate brown eyes and pulled the curtains shut, muttering something along the lines of "dimwit bimbos". Lavender took it upon herself to explain who she was.

"That's Hermione. She's much too serious for our liking, way too bossy. Like, she came into my carriage today looking for some boy's toad! Maybe it was her boyfriend's. I can't honestly believe they both got into Gryffindor. Ah well, not everyone looks good in pink anyway."

"No everyone can have a brain either."

Jennifer was on the verge of feeling a little sorry for the girl with Lavender's rather insensitive tone until she heard that last muttering. She had planned on becoming friends with all the girls, or at the very least, not make any enemies. Believing that it would be easier to talk to the more welcoming pair, she joined in on their new conversation about the uniforms and what they thought classes would be like.

The next morning so the first-year Gryffindor girls thrown into chaos, all thanks to one Hermione Granger.

"Wake up! Seriously, we'll be late! Come on, get dressed. It's already 7. As in 7.00 a.m. I don't want to lose house points." The girls all groaned in unison as Hermione hurried around the room, picking up books and stuffing them into her bag.

She must have packed the entire textbook list as her simple black carrier bag was bulging. Just as she lifted it onto her shoulder, the strap snapped off, leaving the bag to fall the ground with a heavy thud.

"Chill out, we still have at least half an hour until breakfast is even served. Don't be such a priss." Lavender stood next to my bed, yawning widely whilst simultaneously trying to glare at the brunette.

"It's best to be prepared. I don't want to be late and I certainly don't want a detention!" Hermione huffed, crossing her arms and trying to restore her dignity.

"Whatever."

Lavender stalked over to Parvati and began a whispered conversation. Jennifer could only catch a few phrases such as "bookworm", "stuck up" and "great, we're stuck with her" before they grabbed their uniforms and headed to the bathroom.

She wasn't sure if Hermione had heard them but she seemed pretty peeved as she snatched up her broken bag. Before she could offer any assistance in stitching the bag up or advising her to remove a few books, Hermione uttered a spell that repaired the bag.

"I guess your reading paid off." She smiled tentatively at her, thinking back to the night's activities in which Hermione had given up and read a novel in the hopes of drowning out her room-mates' constant giggles.

In return, Hermione gave her a wary smile that was not quite met by her eyes before turning on her heel and disappearing out the door.

Failing to stifle a yawn of her own, she gathered up the uniform with the newly embroidered Gryffindor crest that had been left on her bed and headed to the bathrooms to have a shower. The foggy mirror on top of one of the white, porcelain sinks exposed her tired hazel eyes and the dark circles forming underneath them. It also cruelly reminded her that her hair was all pushed up and knotted, signifying that she would not be allowed to escape combing apart the tangles when she would later emerge from the shower.

She was still too tired fifteen minutes later to even try to understand how a tie worked, staring helplessly at Parvati and Lavender as they got ready.

"Um, how does this work?" She held up the red and gold accessory.

The two girls burst out laughing at her request. Whilst Parvati had managed to get her own tie done up tight, Lavender had chosen to literally ties hers in a knot. Shrugging, she turned her attention to the easier task of putting on her shoes. She had taken the liberty of hitching up her skirt a few centimetres so that it was now sitting just on her knee, rather than almost reaching her ankles. She hated feeling restricted in her clothing, and did not know whether or not she could go the day with a tie and the top button of her shirt done up.

Another fifteen minutes later and satisfied that their hair was neat enough; the girls picked up their bags and jumpers and descended down the spiral staircase. Their male counterparts were evidently doing the same as they eventually all met at the bottom. Ron was busying himself making obscene gestures at Percy who was hurrying out the common room door after hearing that his timetable was ready.

Turning to Harry, he began apologising for an earlier incident. "Sorry about that, even at home he's always a prat, thinking he owns the place. He can be good but I think he was hoping that I'd turn out like him and not the twins. I might be more like Bill or Charlie though."

"How many brothers do you have?" Lavender demanded of him, not caring that she wasn't part of the conversation.

"Five, and one younger sister. She'll be here next year." Ron blushed as he said this; as though a large family wasn't something he was proud of.

Jennifer knew the feeling all too well; it was often hard to distinguish herself in her own immediate family let alone within her extended family. She decided to try a more tactful approach than Lavender's and share her experiences.

"That's awesome, I have four siblings. And over thirty cousins just on my mum's side. You'll never be lonely with a large family." She said unashamedly.

"Cool." Harry finally spoke. Though interested, he seemed a little said and wistful as he said it.

"I'm Jennifer by the way, or Jen. Whichever, I don't mind."

"I'm Lavender, this is Parvati"

"Dean."

"Seamus, although I spoke to you a little bit last night." The boy had a cheeky smile and a strong Irish accent.

Once introductions were made, the small group left as one and headed down to breakfast. Quite surprisingly, Jennifer found it easier to navigate her way to the Great Hall. She hadn't expected to remember any particular paths to follow, uneasily remembering that the stairs had a mind of their own. One particular step had vanished as Lavender set her foot down, leaving Dean and Ron to grab an arm each to help pull her out. She hoped that she could remember to avoid it in future and that it would remain this easy in finding her way to her classes.

Breakfast came and went much too fast for any of the group's liking. They had all filled up on bacon and eggs, pumpkin juice and toast. Harry appeared the most fascinated by the owls that came to deliver the post that morning, delivering various letters and parcels to students who had left something important behind. Jennifer discovered with some relief that whilst the school had an owlery available for any students who needed to post a letter, they also had a similar room in which cats would be given the opportunity to feed and relieve themselves. Mishka had awoken her earlier in the morning as she returned from her late-night hunt, purring loudly as she curled herself around her head; she was very jealous that at this moment her cat was still soundly asleep whilst she had to be up early for lessons.

Standing with Lavender as soon as Parvati had returned from the Ravenclaw table after talking with her sister, the girls made their way to their first class. Dean and Seamus had already accompanied Neville to the room, leaving Harry and Ron to scoff down even more food.

Transfiguration was easy enough to find as it was located in the same tower as their common room. The girls immediately took a seat towards the back of the room, with Jennifer and Parvati sitting just in front of Lavender and Neville. Lavender didn't appear too pleased with this seating arrangement as she shot furtive glances at the plump boy next to her. Apart from Dean and Seamus, the only other student in the room was Hermione. Her books had been laid out neatly in front of her as she wrote something down on a piece of parchment from the thick book she had open.

Jennifer decided to start preparing her own items on her desk, sure that it wouldn't hurt to be a little bit prepared for the lesson. Whilst she did not want to be known as a teacher's pet, she also did not want to appear as though she should not be in the class. She searched through her own brown leather satchel and pulled out a thick textbook, entitled _A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration_ by Emeric Switch. It was one of the heavier books in her bag and had already caused a red mark to appear on her shoulder from the excessive weight. She also took out a notebook filled with fresh white parchment, a long black quill and a bottle of ink. Looking at the items she suddenly wished that she had practiced using them as she was accustomed to using a normal pen and paper method of writing.

She realised that the Gryffindors would be sharing a class with the Slytherins as a group clad in green and silver dragged themselves through the door. True to Percy's lecture the night before, the Slytherins were determined to separate themselves, taking seats on the opposite side of the classroom. She waved as she recognised Daphne and Theodore but was blatantly ignored by the latter, turning a steely gaze at her before taking a seat by himself in the middle row. Daphne showed a little more courtesy by giving her a small smile as she took her own seat next to a girl with hair in a dark bob; Jennifer reprimanded herself as she thought the girl looked uncannily like a pug, well, at least her face did. Noticing Daphne's gaze across the room, the girl turned around and, upon spotting the Gryffindor, glared. Draco Malfoy simply smirked before sitting down next to the gorilla-like figures of Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle (Parvati was pleased she wasn't the only one who thought they were less human as she introduced their names).

Ron and Harry had not yet made it into the classroom when Professor McGonagall abruptly strode into the classroom. Her appearance was much the same as it was the night before; her brown hair was swept into a tight bun and small spectacles were placed upon her nose. Just like the previous night, she was also as equally strict, informing the class of the dangers of the discipline and her intolerance of any misbehaviour. Jennifer sat up a little straighter knowing that she did not want to be kicked out of the class before having the chance to partake in it. She was glad she did as she was given a better view of the front of the classroom as Professor McGonagall transformed her desk into a pig. She had never heard of her cousins learning anything as remotely intriguing as that.

Their task for the lesson, however, was much harder than anticipated. They were required to transfigure the matchstick in front of them into a needle after revising the wand movements and incantation as a class. Needless to say, the experience was frustrating for many of them. No matter how many times she tried to move her wrists correctly, or how many times she said the spell, she couldn't seem to change her stick into a needle; the most progress she made was in turning her matchstick a dull, silver colour. At the end of the lesson Hermione was the only one to have managed to completely transform her matchstick, earning Gryffindor 15 points and the approval of Professor McGonagall.

The Slytherins didn't take too kindly to Hermione's progress. Blaise and Theodore merely glared at the girl whilst Draco decided to take things a little too far. Whilst Professor McGonagall's back was turned, he started to imitate Hermione, first by jumping up and down with his hand stretched in the air and then pointing to his teeth and mimicking the chewing actions of a beaver or rabbit. Crabbe and Goyle were laughing whilst Pansy gave a high-pitched squeal of delight. It was Daphne's reaction, however, that was most concerning for Jennifer. Although the blonde was sitting up straight, her stare was aimed at Hermione as she started laughing and whispering to a girl in front of her. She could not understand such cruelness; she had thought her annoyance at Hermione's appearance on the train was simply because she had interrupted their conversation. Most of the Gryffindors seemed determined not to take notice of this occurrence, looking down at their work or attempting to disguise a laugh of their own as a yawn.

Thankfully, the bell sounded leaving Hermione perfectly unaware of the actions of her classmates as she gathered her belongings and left the room. Jennifer and Parvati stood to do the same when Professor McGonagall called for their attention.

"Miss Gold, could you please wait a moment?"

A slight bit of fear engulfed her stomach as Parvati shot her a worried glance and left with Lavender. She hurriedly tried to think of what she might want, hoping that she hadn't already broken a school rule. The Slytherins, as led by Draco, pushed past her with immature murmurs of "ooh, someone's in trouble."

Gulping a little, she made sure to grab her bag as quickly as possible and walked to the front of the room. She dared to look up only to find her professor flicking her wand to erase the writing on the board. A moment of silence passed before Jennifer decided to get whatever was to happen over and done with- she may as well 'rip the band-aid off' as her father would say.

"Um, professor? You wanted to see me?" She hoped that her voice sounded much stronger than she felt.

"Ah yes, now this won't take long, I'm sure you are eager to get to your next class. You are the Australian student, correct?"

"Yes."

"Just making sure, it never does do to assume. Don't look so frightened Miss Gold, you are not in any trouble. Not now at least."

Minerva laughed slightly in her head; she liked the feeling of power she had over the students, particularly the more troublesome students. She would never go so far as to instil fear into their hearts like some of her colleagues would; she simply wanted to ensure that they knew their place.

"Now, I just want to make that you are settling in. I received an owl earlier last week from your parents who were concerned about your placement here. It is true that there are not many students from overseas, but as you were, let's just say planned here, your name was added to the list of eligible students. I am sure you are aware of your requirement to keep up with your muggle studies. Your parents seem to be aware of that, however, they were a little worried about you balancing it all. You plan to return to Australia during our school holidays, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"During this time you will attend some classes and continue working on all assessments?"

"Yes professor, I think so."

"And you are aware that should you fail to complete the workload required of you, your position at this school will need to be reviewed and your eligibility to remain in Britain could be forfeited?"

Jennifer nodded her head nervously, knowing that this would be difficult.

"Well then that is perfectly fine." It was a rare moment that she smiled. Although some parents could be rather obnoxious with their demands to have their precious children babysat twenty-four seven, others often had questions that she would willingly answer, so long as a barrage more did not come. "I will endeavour to ensure that you are able to mail any assessments to your home and will review your progress now and then. As it applies to everyone in this school, it is very rare for a student to be held back, with extra tutoring available to those who seek it. Hogwarts has welcomed international students in its walls before, including a couple of sixth years that you may wish to converse with for any advice. I am yet to have one under my own supervision to be sent back yet." She looked down her nose at the girl, watching for the nod that showed that she understood the information. Seeing it, she continued. "Very well, I trust you have no further questions or concerns? Off to class then!"

With one less obstacle preventing her from truly fitting in, Jennifer smiled weakly and rushed out of the room. She felt slightly better knowing that she was not the anomaly she had initially thought she was. She promised herself that she would do her best in classes, perhaps not so much on her muggle school work, and began fulfilling this by making her way to Defence Against the Dark Arts.


	5. Chapter 4

**Consolidating Friendships**

**_A/N: I am so sorry for the late update. Once again, I own nothing about the world of Harry Potter. I have just re-read my previous chapters and tried as much as possible to fix the age thing (the main thing is she's younger than Ron, Hermione, Draco, etc, as will be obvious later in the story); I am yet to fix the dates. I also noticed how shocking my writing actually is so hopefully this chapter will be an improvement. Thank you once again to everyone who is reading this story, especially to the favourites , followers and reviewers! This chapter was written mainly to get the story progressing a bit further, as this year is actually pretty boring in my opinion- so please, just remember it's a bit of silly nonsense as I tried to capture the voice of pre-teen girls. Oh, I've also capitalised subject names in this chapter- I don't know if that is correct as in Australia the only school subject ever capitalised was English. Anyways, enough from me, please enjoy _****_J_**

The first few weeks of the school year flew by as the first year students slowly formed a comfortable routine of attending classes and consolidating new friendships. The classes had been interesting, with some more enjoyable than others.

Jennifer knew already which classes she preferred, with History of Magic, Defense Against the Dark Arts and Charms among her favourite classes for their interesting topics. She had found that she carried her enjoyment of all things history from her enthusiasm in primary school, fascinated particularly by mention of medieval times. She wasn't too surprised that neither Parvati nor Lavender agreed with this sentiment, as both of them had spent recent lessons drowning out the ghost professor's monotonous drabbles by drawing on their parchment. Flying lessons, too, were amazing; despite not being able to get her broom to cooperate at first, she found it thrilling that she would soon be able to learn how to fly properly and could not wait to zoom around the fields back home. She didn't hesitate to release her fervour in a five-page long letter to her siblings after the first lesson.

Potions was a different story. The first lesson she had dutifully sat at a table with Lavender, Parvati and Dean, thinking that it couldn't be too hard to concoct a decent potion if she followed instructions like those in a recipe book. Her eagerness slipped away, however, as soon as Professor Snape had swept into the room and immediately began his harassment of Harry; any excitement to learn anything in the class had as much chance of returning as the many house points Gryffindor had already lost.

The Slytherins, too, had not made any attempt to make shared lessons easier in that they seemed to enjoy the humiliation of their peers when Snape berated them or if someone couldn't perform a particular spell. Seamus hadn't faired too well in making his feather levitate in one lesson; if it weren't for the soot that covered his face, she was sure his face would've burned crimson for only managing to blow yet another item up. The Slytherin's raucous laughter most likely still echoed in his ears. By this stage, Jennifer could only tolerate one snake, in which their friendship was already strained. It was this particular student that she was now sitting in the library with after dinner, attempting to decipher the scribbled notes she had made in Herbology.

"Remind me why we have to study plants again?" She huffed, frustrated at the fact that, so far, she had only managed to write one paragraph on the properties of some fungi they had been studying.

"I dunno, I suppose if you wanted to become a medi-witch you'd need to know these things. Mother is always going on about the roses 'she' planted. Really, I do think the house-elves know more than we ever will need to." Daphne replied, trying to complete her own essay.

After the initial awkwardness of the first day of classes pertaining to house division, it had taken some time to realise that they could still be friends, where time was spent working on the piles of homework thrust upon them. Neither Lavender nor Parvati appeared as willing to keep up with their studies as Jennifer was; McGonagall's warning of falling behind had certainly made her nervous. Parvati would occasionally visit the library to hang out with her sister, but more often than not, it was Daphne and her ambition to achieve well in class that kept her company. Jennifer could have sworn that she saw Parvati conveniently disappear whenever Daphne entered the library; she always seemed to have 'other stuff' to do, especially if Pansy Parkinson or Tracey 'pig nose' Davis came along (Jennifer didn't blame her- the two girls were insufferable snobs, in her opinion).

The two girls were in separate classes for a few subjects, including Herbology and Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was particularly beneficial that the teachers assigned the same tasks to the entire grade, obviously not anticipating that the students would share their work with members of different classes. Daphne had not long shared which shrub they would be studying the next lesson, allowing Jennifer to quickly read up on the textbook chapter and find out the best way to avoid being accidentally poisoned. In return, she had given Daphne a warning that in another class they would be having a surprise quiz.

"Ugh, I give up! I don't even know how to write a proper essay- they never taught us back in Australia. I mean, I know about paragraphs and stuff, but it's not like Hogwarts has English as a subject."

"English?"

"Oh, just a muggle subject I did in primary- the school before I came here."

"Oh, that. Well my tutor always said that all you have to remember in writing an essay is to include an introduction of what you would like to say, a body with all of your arguments, and a conclusion to sum up your argument. You mustn't forget to put a sentence at the beginning of each paragraph to say what you are going to have in that part, and only have one idea per paragraph. It's simply, really, look." She held up the parchment she was working on, on which several, neatly aligned paragraphs in her neat cursive were written.

Jennifer made a mental note to practice writing neater herself as she looked towards her rushed out sentences; at least her title was beautifully decorated in black ink. She had gone to the trouble of underlining the thick letters and putting curls at the end of the letters of each first word. Procrastination was a skill she had mastered, with an ability to find almost anything to avoid getting into school work. It was another reason why she was grateful that Daphne was still her friend, particularly as she knew that, come the end of the summer holidays in Australia, she would have even more work to catch up with.

"Oi! Greengrass! There you are; I've been looking for you." Nott came striding up to the table, an annoyed expression on his face. "You were supposed to lend me that book you were sent for DADA, remember?"

"I forgot." Daphne didn't even bother to look up at the intruder as she made a few corrections to her work in blue ink.

"You forgot?"

"Yes, Theo, I forgot. Can't you see I'm studying?"

Unfortunately, Daphne's statement drew his attention to Jennifer who was also attempting to ignore the boy.

"I see. Too busy with little Aussie here? Shall I come back when your senses have returned?"

Aussie, cat-eyes, stick, little lion. They were just some of the nicknames Nott, Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherins had coined for her. Whilst the words themselves were innocent enough, the insulting way they came out of their mouths was enough to make her feel small. Both Ron and Katie had told her earlier to not worry about any Slytherins and their blood purity emphasis, having witnessed their mistreatment of her once or twice in the classroom and hallways. None of the friends she had made so far could quite understand why she even bothered to keep in contact with Daphne, particularly as she did nothing to stop her friends Pansy, Millicent and Tracey, from making rude comments about the Gryffindor girls.

"Get lost, Nott." Jennifer finally mastered up the courage to face him, stuffing her failed attempt of homework into her bag.

"Is that any way to speak to your superiors?"

"Superior? You? Don't make me laugh."

"Stop it. Theo, I'll go get that book now, ok?" Daphne stood up as Jennifer did, clearly not in the mood for yet another of their petty arguments.

"I'm going anyway, have to meet the girls now."

"You mean Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-idiot?" Nott smirked as he recalled his nicknames for Parvati and Lavender.

"Shut up Nott. Bye Daphne, I'll probably see you later." Jennifer picked up her over-loaded bag and made her way out of the library, ignoring the jabs Nott was still throwing at her.

Unlike the slight awkwardness that had been instilled into her friendship with Daphne, her friendship with Nott had taken a fast route downhill. It was made clear that she was not good enough for him from the first week in which he would only meet her eyes with a cold glare or to smirk as someone made a joke at her expense. It was a different loathing than the one Malfoy now nurtured; the blonde would go out of his way to be mean to any 'Gryffindork' rather than Nott who would succeed in making her feel a twinge of fear.

She was relieved to finally make her way to the familiar territory of her dormitory room, feeling comfort in seeing the various unicorn posters Parvati had tacked up to the stone walls. She dumped her bag unceremoniously on to her bed and joined the two girls on the space they had cleared on the floor.

"Quick, get changed into your pyjamas and we can start." Parvati giggled, popping open a few packets of crisps that Lavender's cousin had sent her.

Tonight the girls would be having a slumber-party of sorts. Although Lavender was a pureblood, her slightly older half-blood cousin had introduced her to the fun of pillow fights and movie nights; Parvati, on the other hand, was used to the girly tradition of make overs and nail painting. They had all agreed that it would be a fantastic idea to hold their own mini- sleepover on a Friday night to relax from the stress of new classes.

Jennifer hurried to change into the flannelette pyjama set her mother had made her pack; she was glad now that she had. Not only were the cat designs not as embarrassing as she had originally thought they were, but the soft material allowed her to feel warm and cosy during the cold nights. She noticed that the girls had not set out a fourth sleeping bag on the floor and idly wondered where their dorm-mate was.

"Hermione didn't want to come then?"

Lavender and Parvati exchanged a look before the latter explained. "Well, we did ask, you know. But that girl has got to sort out her priorities. She said she was too busy anyway, something to do with Ron and Harry, even though they can't stand her." At Jennifer's sceptical look, she continued, "We really did try. She didn't even care about curfew either."

"Yea, she was rather rude about it anyway. Said she'd rather stay in the common room than come back and hang out with a bunch of twits." Pulling a packet of crisps towards her, Lavender didn't seem too worried about the insult.

Jennifer wasn't one hundred per cent sure that either girl had been tactful but didn't want to dwell on it too much. She had felt sorry for Hermione's inability to make friends, but knew the girl could be a little obnoxious at times. She had once asked the studious girl to join them in the library, thinking that at least they shared something in common. Unfortunately, the invitation was declined as she caught Ron whispering to Harry about 'bookworms' and 'nerds'. She didn't blame Hermione for not wanting to be labelled that way, knowing that she, herself, did not want herself to be known as a geek back in primary school, but couldn't understand why she didn't make more of an effort to get to know her.

The night was enjoyable as the girls immersed themselves in various activities. Parvati had borrowed an old, portable television set off an older girl that afternoon, however, being at Hogwarts, the technology wouldn't work. Jennifer had brought along a copy of the Disney movie, The Little Mermaid, for them to watch but was secretly glad about this development, realising that it was probably a little baby-ish to watch cartoons at their age. Nevertheless, the girls easily amused themselves gossiping about the boys they thought were cute (Oliver Wood was a unanimous choice for his Scottish accent) and talking about the teachers they hated. They took turns in painting each other's nails in gold and red designs, ready to support their team in the upcoming Quidditch match against Slytherin, and took great care in braiding each other's hair.

Halfway through the night, Jennifer produced an old copy of 'Teen Witch' magazine that Katie had given her. The girls eagerly gathered around as they flipped through the pages, pointing out make up trends that they wanted.

"Oooh, we should try that!" Parvati cooed, pointing to the winking model as she pointed back and forth to some bright green and yellow eye shadow products.

"That looks hard. I do want to find something like that though." Lavender tapped the moving picture of a model twirling on the page in short, dark purple robes.

Jennifer jumped up from the pillow she was nestled on and began rolling up the cuffs of her pyjama pants and top. Pointing her chin to the sky obnoxiously and placing her hands on her hips, she strutted forwards.

"Do you think I could be a model?" She laughed as she swung her hips as she walked around the room.

"No, no, darling, it's like this." Lavender got up and began to walk the room, taking elongated steps and fluttering her lashes dramatically.

Parvati applauded with shouts of "bravo, bravo!" and mimicked bowing down to the girls,"I am not worthy of such style".

The girls erupted into a fit of giggles at their antics before settling down to read the magazine yet again. Their laughter was soon halted, however, as they opened a page that had previously been magically sealed shut to other pages.

"Oh Merlin, you can't be serious."

"No way, how big are they?"

"When will mine grow like that?" Lavender asked, cupping her hands to her chest.

"Ew, gross, no way, I don't ever want any and I never want to wear a bra."

"Me neither, although that lacy purple one is sort of pretty."

"Nope, no way, never wearing one."

"Actually, I don't want to either. It's weird. My cousin said that all the boys want to touch them though."

"Why?"

"I dunno, it might have something to do with that."

All the girls stared horrified at the next article based on 'how to tell if you are doing it right.'

"Nope, turn it over, why on earth would anyone want to do that?"

"I know, right? It's so creepy! And I thought kissing was bad enough."

"Have you kissed someone Pav?"

"Not yet but I don't know if I ever would. My parents would freak anyway."

"I thought it would be kind of good. I mean, those Weasley twins aren't too bad on the eye."

Parvati and Jennifer stared at Lavender before breaking into teasing smiles.

"Lavender and twins, wait that doesn't work, oh well, sitting by the lake, S-N-O-G-G-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a wizard carriage." The girls chorused, attempting to remember the words to the popular rhyme.

Parvati was thoughtful as she added, "I wonder how many times are parents did, you know, that."

"Ewww! Stop!"

The remainder of the night saw the girls continuing to giggle at the contents of the magazine, blushing at some parts and bursting into uncontrollable laughter at the 'witch confessions' section. It was whilst they were reading one particular confession about a girl who put a garden gnome in her sister's bed as revenge that their little party was interrupted.

"I swear, those boys. Seriously? They just can't help themselves."

Hermione had walked into the room, slightly flushed as though she had just been running. She threw a disdainful glare at the confused girls before hopping into her bed and pulling the curtains shut tight. Not wanting to end up on her bad side yet again, the girls quickly extinguished the candles they had lighted and packed away their belongings, leaving the rubbish in a small pile near the foot of Lavender's bed.

"Night girls."

"Nighty night!"

"Sleep tight!"

"… Good night."

Jennifer smiled as she heard Hermione whisper; she wasn't so bad after all, perhaps she could be saved. Just as she was falling asleep, however, she could hear the girl muttering about boys and noisy roommates. It was only in her subconscious that she could hear the slight crinkle of a magazine page turning and a giggle stemming from one of the beds where Lavender was sleeping.


	6. Chapter 5

**Halloween **

**A/N: I do not own anything you recognise from the world of Harry Potter, including Professor Quirrell's script. The marvellous J. K. Rowling is responsible for that one ;)**

**A big, big, big thank you to everyone reading this story, especiallyTwi! I still need to fix the dates, but rest assured this all happens canonically (at least book wise) in the 90s. I do realise that Sabrina's Secrets and Sabrina the Teenage Witch did not exactly exist then, so please let's just pretend they did. Here is the latest chapter, and hopefully the story will move along from here. **

The new school term was well under way back in Australia and Jennifer was not impressed at all. She was currently sitting near the smooth surface of the lake surrounded by a pile of books, her pens scattered around her feet. She had finished the history homework that her school had so generously sent her, and was now struggling with the concept of 'averages'.

Daphne had declined to sit with her, and she could see why; not only did the blonde not care to speak of anything muggle-related, she was not dumb enough to spend the day outside in the cold when she could be helping her friends plan for their house Halloween celebrations. She had considered re-asking Hermione but the brunette appeared to be in a foul mood as she stormed passed her classmates not too long ago.

Jennifer sighed and stretched her legs. She had taken off her school shoes and socks so that she could spread her toes out and relax; she found that after an entire day at school foot odour was common, and she loathed the thought of being the one who would stink out her roommates at the end of the day. Giving up on trying to work out the explanation concerning the sizes of three nails and what Johnny could do with them, she grabbed for the envelope lying carelessly underneath her glossy mathematics textbook.

Her mother would usually be responsible for the posting of the homework and letters each month, but her father had clearly sent this package. She had noticed that the books were pile haphazardly, wrapped in a bit of brown paper that had been torn in places by sticky-tape; her mother would have carefully wrapped any parcels, making sure to neatly label the school address and write instructions from the teacher for each homework piece. She had the feeling her father hadn't even dared visit Mrs Joans, who would have been curious as to why her new overseas boarding school required the extra homework. She wished that she had been there when the school administration was informed of her little overseas adventures, for she would have certainly tried to have a say in the need for homework. Unfortunately, her parents managed to find the ministry representative responsible for the needs of Australian witches and wizards and convinced her to visit her principal and make the necessary arrangements applicable to young students.

She unfolded the letter from the creamy envelope, already familiar with its contents. Her mother had at least written a few words of comfort, leaving room for comments about her friends back home. A few tears started welling up in her eyes as she re-read the same sentences over and over again.

_'__Hi Jenny! I was shocked that you __wernt__ weren't coming back to school this year. Your mum said you were visiting relatives or at a boarding school or something. Me and Steph are going trick or treating this year. Heres my costume in the __picter__ picture.' _Words were crossed out here and there, making it look like it was written in a hurry.

She was upset that she would be missing out on celebrating Halloween back home, but even more so at the way her friends so easily accepted that she wouldn't be returning to school as they did. Caitlin was the only one who had written to her, yet she had already appeared to have replaced her with another friend. She knew it wasn't fair to begrudge her of this, particularly as she had been making friends of her own at Hogwarts, but it still hurt her to the point that she didn't want to know what was going on at the school.

Wiping at her eyes with the sleeve of her jumper and giving a slight sniffle, she pulled out a piece of lined paper from one of her school books and began to draw unsteadily. She felt it was only appropriate that she at least tried to get Caitlin back, and so drew a quick image of the witch costume she would have worn back in Australia. As she drew the pointed hat so much like her Hogwarts prescribed attire, she thought back to a previous celebration two years before with her cousins.

_"__Nice costume Jen, did aunty Maree make that for you?" Lisle asked politely, as she turned to the mirror to examine her make up._

_"__Yep! I'm going to be a Disney princess, can you guess which one?" Jennifer replied, twirling around in the chiffon skirt._

_"__I dunno, let's see. It has to be someone, mmm, I dunno. Oh, let me guess, Aurora?"_

_"__Yes!" She giggled, knowing that Lisle was humouring her but enjoying every moment of it._

_"__Stop showing off, mum wants you to go and set the table." Anne had appeared by the door, alongside Jack and Lisle's sister, Emmeline. _

_"__I wasn't and you can go do it, I'm busy."_

_"__Go now."_

_The girls began to bicker, throwing a few little hits and grabbing a hold of each other's arms, before Jack and Emmeline stepped in._

_"__You know, Em, I now know why Halloween is so special." _

_"__Why? Oh, I know too."_

_Their whispered conversation had caught her attention, and she immediately stopped trying to kick her sister's ankle. Anne smirked, clueing in to what they were saying._

_"__Tell me!"_

_"__Oh, it's nothing. It's just the time of year that your parents were over there, around nine years ago."_

_"__What did they do there?"_

_"__They were visiting some distant relative and congratulating their son on graduating."_

_"__Did he go to Hogwarts?"_

_"__Probably. Anyway, they visited an old haunted house. Do you know what they did there?"_

_"__Stop it, Em, I'll tell mum what you're doing, you too Anne and Jack. She's too young."_

_"__Too young for what?"_

_"__Well…" As her elder cousins decided to part the knowledge that had gained at school from years six and seven, Jennifer found herself cringing more and more with the details of her mum's 'planned' pregnancy. _

She shuddered as the memory faded, knowing that it was the scariest Halloween she had had yet. They had gone trick-or-treating that night, Lisle attending a party elsewhere, even though not many people celebrated in Australia, with possible images ingrained into her mind. She still wasn't sure whether or not it was the ridiculous amount of chocolate she had scoffed down or her cousins' little story that had made her sick all that night.

She finished drawing another costume design for Caitlin; this time of the gypsy costume Lisle had worn, before her pens decided to cease working in the chilled air and she realised her quills wouldn't fare much better. She idly wondered where Mishka was, no doubt chasing rats and mice in the owlery, when she heard murmured voices as they were carried on the wind.

Shoving the drawings aside, she sat up to listen, recognising the approaching figures of Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy was flushed in the face as he rapidly spoke; Crabbe and Goyle nodded along with equally angry expressions. She quickly fanned her face with her hand, hoping that she hadn't looked like she was upset. The boys had already teased her and a few other girls about being homesick; poor Hannah Abbott, a kind Hufflepuff girl who she had a few classes with, had cried when Malfoy cruelly mentioned her pet dog and what probably would happen to it whilst she was at school.

The group passed her as they headed further across the grounds, allowing her to hear mumbled words like "new broom", "should've been expelled", and "tonight". It wasn't until she heard the phrase "Potter's going to get it, tonight" that she started to worry. Malfoy was going to do something to Harry and she needed to tell him.

She quickly packed up her belongings, shoving them into her bag roughly and not bothering to match up the lids of the pens to their rightful owners. She hopped around on one foot as she pulled on her long, grey sock, thankful that her shoes could be easily slipped on. In a matter of minutes, she was running off towards the castle.

Unfortunately, the matter of finding Harry Potter wasn't as easy as she had thought it would be. She began with the most logical place, the common room, only to find it empty save for the Weasley twins, who were being chased by their older brother who was desperate to get his prefect badge back. Both the library and the courtyard were also empty of the raven-haired boy, as was the bridge where most students liked to sit near and chat. No one was much help either, either not caring where Harry was or not knowing where, let alone who, Ron was so she could warn him instead.

The only person who was any help at all was Katie, who she had bumped into after another round of common-room searching.

"Hi Jen, what's up? Are classes going better?"

"Hi. Yea, they're fine, I guess. Where've you been?" she did a double-take at Katie's appearance, noticing the girl was patting her hair dry with a towel.

"Oh, just the usual Quidditch meetings. I swear Wood gets so uptight when a game draws near."

"Was Harry with you?"

"No, well yes, sort of." Katie shrugged, taking out her wand to dry the remainder of damp tresses.

"Huh?"

"Well, he was with me for a moment, Oliver pulled him aside to talk strategy. Again. But then the lucky bugger got off, I don't know where he is now. Wood was too busy trying to make us girls help him with new Keeper moves." She rolled her eyes, but her lips held a small smile. "Anyways, I've got to get going, the Halloween feast is about to start. Come with me, maybe Harry will be there."

Jennifer considered her options, glad she hadn't been able to try out for any team sports this year, before deciding to run up to her room and dump her books on her bed. She was back downstairs in flash, pleased to see Katie had waited for her, alongside her friend Leanne.

The two older girls spoke about Oliver Wood and the next match as they walked, before Katie suddenly remembered to ask Jennifer something. "Why were you looking for Harry anyway?"

"I just wanted to tell him something."

Leanne nudged Katie, giving a dramatic wink before giggling.

"Ugh, no, not for that. I mean, Harry's nice and everything, but we're just friends, if that."

"Sure you are" Katie joined in with the teasing.

"I guess he does have those nice emerald eyes. Pity he's a first year."

"Leanne!"

"What? You know I like-" she paused, looking at Jennifer before deciding she could trust her, "-Diggory."

"Everyone knows you like Diggory. Who doesn't?"

The girls continued their banter, talking about the various cute smiles and spiky hair styles of various boys in the castle, before Katie finally sobered up.

"Ok, ok, I'll stop. You don't like Harry" she held her hands up in surrender, "but you did need him. I still want to know why."

Jennifer paused before answering, unsure whether or not she should clue the two girls in. She didn't necessarily think Malfoy was evil, but, judging from his recent attitude, she wouldn't put it past him to do something that could hurt Harry. Perhaps he was simply planning a cruel prank or he had calmed down by now and had just been venting his anger, but she did not want the guilt if something truly bad did happen. Looking at the two girls' expectant faces, she gave in.

"Do you think a student would ever really hurt another student, like a first year?"

"What do you mean? Is someone bullying you?" Katie looked concerned, so she hurriedly continued.

"No, no, not really. There's rude people in the class, but it's not that bad. I just mean, do you think a student could be, um, well, evil?"

The older girls looked at each other, unsure how to respond, until Leanne finally spoke up.

"I don't think so. Who are you talking about? What do you think is going to happen?"

"It's just that I heard someone saying how they wanted to get revenge on someone, that's all."

"Oh, well, yes, I understand. I bet this person is a Slytherin, am I right?"

"Yea, Draco Malfoy. He just seemed really angry earlier and I think he's going to do something to Harry."

"Probably because Harry's now got a spot on the Gryffindor team, I wouldn't worry about it. That boy's a real pain as it is, no doubt jealous of him."

"All Slytherins are like that. You should see the guys on their Quidditch team, all talk and no action." Katie chimed in eagerly, her hate for the snakes evident in her glistening eyes.

"Yea, especially the captain. That guy's a menace, and he thinks he's so hot. He's even tried to get with Angelina a few times; she made sure to tell him where to go."

"Oh, I remember that! You should've seen his face, he had it coming though. It's a pity he keeps harassing Wood though, can't wait to beat him in the next game."

"Aren't you worried he'll knock you off? It's your first game!"

"Nah, the twins cover well. Anyway, Jen, the point is, just about every Slytherin male acts like a scumbag, and females too. Some poor Hufflepuff in the year above us had her hair pulled out by a girl, claiming she shouldn't even be looking at her boyfriend, Montague. You just have to learn to be careful around them and ignore them."

"But shouldn't I tell Harry?"

"I think he'll be fine, I wouldn't get involved in case Malfoy decides to do something to you for telling," seeing the conflict on Jennifer's face, Katie continued, "I'll keep a look out on him if it makes you feel better, alright? C'mon, we'd better hurry to the Hall, we're probably late now."

As it happened, the girls weren't the only students to arrive at that time, with many more students, decked out in their black cloaks and some wearing their pointed hats, swarmed through the doorway. With another reassuring smile, Katie and Leanne went to greet a friend as Jennifer wandered over to the Gryffindor table from which Lavender and Parvati were waving.

As she sat down, Jennifer saw Ron and Harry sitting a little further down, laughing with Seamus, Dean and a few older boys. Hesitating for a moment, she decided she would probably lose her nerve if she was to go up to him with such a big crowd surrounding him. Instead, she allowed herself to steal a few glances at him every now and then to ensure Malfoy hadn't put anything in his pumpkin pasties.

As it were, the feast was spectacular with the various amounts of food on offer. Lavender was too busy ducking from the enchanted bats to pay much attention to the menu. Jennifer couldn't choose between the main meals so started on desert first, much to the amusement of Parvati, who liked to save the sweet things for last. Unfortunately, she didn't get a chance to sample any of the custard-based deserts when the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor came barrelling down the hall.

"Troll! Troll, in the dungeon. Thought you ought to know." The hall filled with the gasps and screams of teachers and students alike as Professor Quirrell slumped to the floor in a faint.

Jennifer panicked slightly, feeling her heart go cold. Whilst she had never come in contact with a troll, they had featured in the fairy tales her mother used to read to her and were usually the brute villains who killed off the townsfolk. Professor Binns had mentioned some of them in History of Magic, and he too, pointed out their terrifying nature; even in his dull voice he managed to make them sound horrid. She was pulled out of her thoughts as Lavender grabbed her forearm and shrieked in her ear.

They were ushered to the common rooms by Percy, who appeared to be in his element as he directed the Gryffindors up the stairs and into the portrait hole, barking orders at the twins when they tried to sneak off. The room soon filled with students, all talking excitedly about who might have let the troll into the castle and where it was now.

"Can trolls be girls? They look really ugly, I've heard." Lavender was talking to Parvati and a fourth year, both nodding eagerly.

Jennifer's thoughts, however, drifted to Harry and Malfoy, neither of whom she had spotted as they fled the Great Hall. She hadn't been looking at Malfoy when the news of the troll was heard, and she hoped that she was wrong in thinking he had something to do with it. Had it been his plan to get revenge on Harry? The Slytherin common room was rumoured to have been near the dungeons, so he would've had the opportunity to release it nearby. It was a little doubtful though, that he could pull off such a dangerous stunt.

Turning to the girls who were now discussing the possibility of makeup testing on trolls, she tried to get Lavender's or Parvati's attention to share her concerns. Neither girl, however, seemed to hear her attempts to butt in the conversation.

"Can you imagine one wearing blue eye shadow? That would be hilarious!"

"I wonder where it is now? Maybe it got a few Slytherins."

"That's not funny!"

"Lav, I need to-"

"I heard they stink! My cousin's friend's aunty had one pass her house and she said it wreacked!"

"Pav, please. I just want to-"

"I can believe it. They really should start a law where they have to use perfume or something."

Twenty minutes into their nonsense, she huffed and tried to find Katie or Leanne. She spotted both with the girls from the Quidditch team and began to make her way over.

Just as she dodged a chess set that someone had knocked to the ground in excitement, Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley tumbled through the portrait hole, both out of breath. She was astonished at their sudden appearance, feeling slightly relieved that neither boy looked hurt.

In a moment, the room transformed into a sea of black as students realised the newcomers had witnessed the defeat of the troll; pushing even closer to them when they heard that they were responsible. The boys looked nervous and happy as they were swarmed, and Jennifer tried herself to hear what they had done.

Their modest tale was amazing. How the two had managed to save Hermione, who had apparently been in the toilets at the time and was ambushed by the troll, was a wonder. The girl had come in minutes later, blushing slightly. She didn't receive as much attention, although Parvati and Lavender honed in on her the moment they got the chance.

"Hermione! We're glad you're ok! We were so worried." Lavender gushed, leading her up the stairs.

"Come, tell us all about it." Parvati followed, pushing a girl out of her way and opening the door to their room.

She felt a little embarrassed; knowing neither one of them had showed any sign of worry for the girl. Parvati had told Harry that she had been crying earlier, but from the minute she had got to the common room and knew she was safe, the gossip had taken over. Jennifer was sure Hermione could tell too, as she simply smiled and nodded when appropriate.

She was thus surprised when Hermione approached her as the girls finally left her alone to get changed into their pyjamas.

"Hi. Um, look, sorry for being brisk earlier. I would still like to study sometime if you wanted. I know you have to do muggle work and, well, I excelled in just about all of the subjects."

Whatever had happened in the bathrooms had changed Hermione's attitude, if only a little bit. Jennifer smiled encouragingly and climbed into bed. She wanted to confide in someone about her suspicions, particularly with the events of the night, and thought perhaps her roommate might be the answer.

That night she dreamt of trolls in tutus dancing with her friends, including Caitlin, and of Malfoy riding a dog and chasing after Harry along a beach, waves crashing against the shore.


	7. Chapter 6

**Don't fall!**

**A/N: J. K. Rowling still owns all; if I did, I would be richer and the world poorer, if you understand my meaning. **

**This chapter was quickly written out and is a little bit of a filler. I hope I have still managed to keep them sounding like they are eleven and that there aren't any plot holes so-to-speak. More importantly, I hope you don't find this cheesy haha. Question: Should I keep posting chapter titles or are they just bluh? Either way, please enjoy mes amis!**

The first Quidditch match of the season was upon them and, like the majority of the student population, Jennifer was beyond excited to watch the game. She had spent the entire morning that Saturday hanging out with Parvati and Lavender, giving herself a break from the mound of work piled upon her. Hermione had been invited to join in with the girls as they painted their nails in reds and golds, but had declined in favour of hanging out with her new friends, Harry and Ron.

She had not yet had the opportunity to inform Hermione of her worries concerning Malfoy, even though they had started spending time getting to know one another whilst studying in the library that week. She was anxious to tell someone about her ideas and, the fact that Hermione was now friends with the boys she thought could be in danger, made her all the more ready to talk.

Daphne had abandoned her with the excuse that she did not want to end up on the bad side of Marcus Flint; he had allegedly spent the last fortnight pounding anyone who was accused of not knowing where their house loyalty lies, when he wasn't busy trying to hex members of the Gryffindor team. She didn't blame Daphne in the least, and was strangely happy that she spent more time with Pansy and her crew, even if she thought they were awful girls.

"No, no, no. Let's tie our scarves this way, you flip it over your shoulder, see? That way your neck doesn't look too thick." Parvati was currently winding her own scarf expertly around her neck and trying to teach Lavender the same.

Jennifer busied herself applying some gold streaks to her hair with mascara from her Sabrina Secret's kit. Anne had finally got bored of it and sent it her way, leaving her to add water to help dissolved some of the container's clumps. Parvati's long braid glittered with the product whilst Lavender chose to leave her blond locks untouched, knowing that the gold wouldn't show up as much. Each girl had Madame Lucy's All Day, Every Day red lipstick striped across their cheeks, resembling the stereotypical markings of native American Indians Jennifer had seen in the movies.

As the girls made their way towards the Quidditch pitch, a few sixth- year Ravenclaw girls brushed by them. They made a few nasty comments about Lavender, who had taken it upon herself to go the extra mile and paint red eye shadow on her eyelids. The effect made her look as though she had been crying rather than a proud supporter of Gryffindor. As such, Lavender huffed at the girls and upped her pace, making Jennifer and Lavender run to keep up with her.

Hermione and Ron were seated just below them, talking about something or other. When Hermione spotted the girls, she complimented them quietly on their outfits; another improvement for the girl's social skills. Lavender didn't acknowledge the sentiment though, and folded her arms as she plonked down on the seat. Thankfully, Parvati was a little nicer and smiled politely.

The girls had a fantastic view of the pitch as they watched the players clad in scarlet and emerald circle the pitch. Lavender eventually gave up on her sulking when Gryffindor scored; she let out a cheer so loud that it caused Ron to cover his ears and turn to her, glowering. She didn't care though as she stood on her seat, yelling loudly as Gryffindor scored another ten points.

It was Lavender's dancing around that made Jennifer start to think about cheerleading. The sport was considered more of an American tradition and was often replaced in Australia with gymnastics. She had always wanted to join a team but her grandmother, who liked her grandchildren to be lady- or gentlemanly-like, refused to allow any of her granddaughters to go out in public in short skirts and tops, let alone do high kicks. Belle, Lisle's older sister, had once dared to cut off the bottom of her t-shirt after copying an episode of _Neighbours_; to say it didn't end well was an understatement. If she wasn't over sixteen at the time she certainly would have not been able to sit down for a week.

As Lavender did a shaky pirouette on the chair, Jennifer had an idea. She was, after all, on the other side of the world to her grandmother, not to mention apart from any tattle-tale siblings and cousins.

"Hey, Pav. Why doesn't Hogwarts have a cheerleading team?"

"I don't know, they might have an unofficial one."

"Do people cheer at games though? Like professional ones? I've only ever seen my cousins play and this is by far more interesting already."

"Yea, I'm sure they do. I know veelas tend to mascot for Ireland, and a few other Hungarian teams have cheerleaders. I don't think India does though."

"Veela? I'd love to be as pretty as one." Lavender finally jumped down, sighing dreamily at the prospect of the creatures. "I heard a few students are part veela, wouldn't it be great?"

"Don't they, like, claw your face out if you do something wrong?" Parvati crinkled her nose.

"Probably. But still, it would be nice to have all that attention."

"Do you think we could form a squad?"

"Squad?"

"Yea, a squad. You know, cheerleading team."

The squeal of joy Lavender let out was more deafening than her cries for Gryffindor. Both Parvati and Jennifer placed their hands over their ears, cringing as people turned around to see what was going on.

"Yes! Yes! Oh Merlin, yes!"

"I take that as a yes?"

"Oh, oh, oh, we can have cute little uniforms, and do our nails even better- you'll have to grow yours longer Jen- and we can do back flips and use brooms. Oh, oh, and fireworks!"

Jennifer was happy that she was so enthusiastic, and even happier still that the Weasley twins were too busy hitting bludgers around to hear any mention of pyrotechnics. The three girls continued to discuss try-outs and routines, conveniently forgetting McGonagall's likely disapproval of the plan. As they were discussing, they almost missed what was happening on the field.

"Oh no, he's going to fall!"

"What is he doing?"

Harry Potter was hanging off his broom, hanging on precariously with one hand as it swayed back and forth dangerously. One wrong move on his part and he would easily fall; she felt sick at the thought of him plummeting to the sandy ground below. She looked on helplessly as the broom dipped down before rocketing back up and spinning. The only people who didn't wear a stricken expression were the Slytherins.

Jennifer tore her gaze away, looking towards the nearby stands holding fans dressed in silver and green. She spotted Nott, who was whispering to Blaise Zabini, a smirk evident on his face, before he turned back to the book he was holding. She allowed her gaze to drift a little lower. Among the students shouting with glee sat Malfoy, surrounded as usual by his goons, Crabbe and Goyle. He did not even bother to hide his happiness, cheering as Harry took another jolt.

She didn't know what was causing Harry's broom to buck him off but she had a feeling Malfoy had something to do with it. Turning to Hermione, she was a little surprised to see that she was gone; she must have been jostled by the crowd. Sighing disappointedly, she turned to watch Harry.

The whole stand sucked their breath in before letting it out as one; Harry had regained control of his Nimbus and was now soaring off again in search of the snitch. She allowed herself to take a few breaths before turning back to the Slytherin stand. Malfoy was no longer clapping; he had a sour look plastered on his face and slumped back in his chair.

It wasn't long before Harry managed to catch the golden ball, resulting in a victory for Gryffindor. Although she clapped and cheered along with the rest of her house, Jennifer had other things on her mind. She moved ideas of cheerleading to the back and trouble herself with what she had witnessed; this was the second time in the last month or so that Harry had found himself in danger. It was also the second time that Jennifer had seen Malfoy nearby, obviously unhappy that he had not been hurt. It seemed an awfully big coincidence, given their loathing for each other. Katie had told her to mind her own business, even after the troll incident, but still, that nagging feeling told her she was onto something. All she knew for sure was that she had to tell someone, possibly Hermione given their connection, and fast.


	8. Chapter 7

**~2001~**

He paced the cold white corridor, ignoring the mix of concerned and tired glares sent his way. He was much too busy trying to figure out how to enact the final stages of the plan. If it wasn't for a tiny cough and the placement of a delicate, old hand upon his shoulder, he would have certainly worn a path in the laminate flooring.

"Come now Bill, you mustn't fret. I'm sure the… what are they called again? Doctas?-"

"Doctors." A gruff voice supplied helpfully from further down the hallway.

"Yes, doctors, that's it. I'm sure the muggle mediwizards will be done soon. We'll make sure we leave straight away."

Stopping, Bill sighed, running a hand through his messy hair. He had not slept for the last forty eight hours and he didn't think he would have a chance to catch up anytime soon. The constant squeaking of the muggles' white shoes against the clean floor was setting him on edge; the noise penetrating his mind each time he thought of a possible idea to get him and his team to safety. He looked to the clock hanging on the nearby blue wall as it rhythmically ticked, signalling each minute, each second, lost that they desperately needed.

"How much longer are they going to be in there? They could be here any moment!"

The witch who was accompanying him on this mission immediately looked alert, withdrawing her hawthorn wand from the inside pocket of her blue overcoat. If it weren't for the wizard keeping look out down the corridor, she would've pounced on the nearest person; as it were, the teenage boy dressed in black ripped jeans and an equally ripped blue shirt glowered at her, obviously unhappy about the prospect of visiting a sick relative, as music pumped from fluro orange headphones on his ears.

"Put that thing away, Romy! Do you want to give us all away?" the wizard hissed at the witch, moving past Bill to gain a better view of the opposite side of the corridor. He pushed past the third member of their group, earning a scowl.

"Leave her alone, we don't know who could be here."

"Sorry. This place just gives me the creeps."

Bill clicked his tongue, hoping that the group didn't start another argument. Usually the three younger members of his team worked together well. Romy, though she needed to be constantly reminded of the inappropriately flirtatious way she would conduct herself at times, was a keen recruit, eager to assist her two co-wizards in finding clues. In turn, the boys would provide protection for the group, both having the necessary skills obtained in auror training. On most occasions, they would listen to each other and feed off each other's ideas to form the next move. Unfortunately, there were times, like now, when their work didn't allow them to eat or sleep and as a result, they would get on each other's nerves.

"Mr., uh, Mr. Filch?" A blonde woman in her thirties addressed the small group of visitors, peering around until she could spot the person she needed.

Bill walked over to her and she gave him a hesitant smile. It was Romy's idea to change their names as a precaution. It was also her idea to give him the last name of the caretaker, possibly as revenge for refusing to stop at the shopping centre the week before.

"The doctor has finished now, and is happy with her progress. Your sister is allowed visitors for the moment, immediate family only of course. But, well…" the woman looked nervous as she continued in a hushed tone, "she said something as she came too, something absurd; she appeared frightened. She wanted to leave but we told her no. Her chart said she had an accident surfing; she hit her head on some rocks, I believe. Is that true?"

"That's what happened."

"Well, you see, Mr Filch, whilst that story explains the large amount of sea water in her lungs, it doesn't tell us why she was so bruised and malnourished." She looked at him, waiting for an explanation. When none was offered, she tapped the clipboard and cleared her throat. "In cases like this we are expected to report to the police if we suspect our patient is at risk of abuse, miner or not. I must ask, is everything alright at home?"

At the mention of the muggle law enforcement, Bill closed his eyes. He didn't need this. Taking a deep breath, he plastered a smile on his face.

"I assure you, Madame, everything is fine. Her parents, our parents, are very nurturing and loving. She may have simply been thrown against the rocks; it was a while before we found her and the waves were pretty heavy, that's all. As for her build, well, she's normally tiny."

The nurse looked at him, before her eyes unfocussed. In less than a minute she was blinking rapidly, as though clearing her head. "Very well, but I do insist you come in with me by yourself first. It may just be the shock of the last few days, of course, but I'd feel better if you could talk to her, maybe sooth her. Your, uh, cousins can wait out here."

He nodded, now a lot more worried than he was before. He had yet to extract the details of the girl's adventures himself, his imagination running wild. Whatever had happened couldn't be good.

He shrugged at his team before following the nurse into the brightly lit room. It smelt strongly of lemon and pine. The nurse waddled past the first bed; Bill noticed the crisp white sheets and purple blanket were pulled tight across the bed in a fashion his mother would be proud of; and beckoned him to the other bed as she pulled the curtains open. Large metal boxes were making funny bleeping noises, with one particular box showing a black screen and green jagged line.

His stomach plummeted as he glimpsed the figure lying on it. Although the colour had returned to her skin, he could see the unmistakable bulk caused by bandages beneath the cover of the blanket. The girl's eyes were closed, bags beneath them.

"Honey, there's someone here to see you."

The girl shifted slightly, but kept her eyes closed. If he was not mistaken, by the way her eyes fluttered, she had tried to fake slumber before realising the nurse knew better.

"Don't you want to see your brother?" The nurse smiled gently at the girl, hoping to encourage her to acknowledge him.

He cleared his throat, knowing she would probably be wondering who the woman was talking about, "Hey sis, it's Bill." He hadn't given the receptionist his first name, simply leaving the report he had filled out earlier with an initial.

After a moment, the girl's eyes fluttered open. She looked to him, recognition evident upon her face as she smiled. It didn't last, however, as a frown formed.

The nurse made a slight jump, causing Bill to watch the woman as her eyes glazed over momentarily. Before he could comment, she smiled warmly at him and excused herself, picking up a blanket from the side table as she left the room.

The girl didn't seem to notice, however, as she stared at him, eyes turning a brilliant shade of emerald as they welled with tears.

"I'm here now; it's going to be ok." He made to hug her, but she wriggled over, trying to move out of his reach.

"This is bad, you can't be here." She whispered, evidently exerting herself with the addition of trying to sit up.

"Shh, it's ok. You're safe."

"It's terrible. No, it's bad. I've got to go, I've got to-"

"Shh, shh. It's alright. I'm here now, everything's ok. We'll get you out soon, ok? And then we'll take you to the safe place. It's all over." He managed to carefully sit upon the tiny bed, cradling the girl in his arms.

"I'm so sorry. This is bad, it's all my fault, I have to go."

"Shh, it's not your fault."

"But she, she should've- and they- and if I didn't-" the girl was working herself into a panic, unable to get the words out.

"You're safe now, they can't get you, we'll make sure of it."

"But you don't know everything. I- I shouldn't have-"

"Shh."

The two sat together in a comfortable embrace as she patted her shoulders, rubbing her back in soothing circular motions. She seemed to calm down as she leaned back into him, sobbing every now and then. After a few minutes of silence, apart from the occasional hiccough that made its way from her throat, he felt her take a deep breath.

"Bill, I've done something, something bad."

"Nothing you could do would be bad, not after your efforts in the war and the clean up."

"No, no I've done something terrible. I should have never-" she choked on her words, unable to bring herself to continue.

"Nobody blames you for that. It was too much to ask of you, if anything, we should be the ones apologising."

"I shouldn't have tried. If I wasn't so, so stubborn…"

"Nonsense." He gripped her tightly, like he had done so many times for his own sister after the war.

It was a few more moments before the girl spoke again.

"Bill, you don't understand. I think-" her eyes had started watering again.

Bill looked into her face, once again concerned. She looked so fragile, so scared. He didn't know if he had ever seen her look so frightened as the tears fell freely and she bit her lip. Something else had happened, something worse than they all suspected. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted to hear what they had done to her, but knew it was important.

"What is it?"

"I think... I know…"

"Yes?" he pressed on, holding her hand as she gripped it tightly. Whatever it was, he could tell it was killing her inside. He tried to school his face into a smile to make it easier for her. "You can tell me anything."

She took a shaky breath before meeting his gaze.

"I killed someone."

**_A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As always, J. K. Rowling owns all recognisable content, including characters and terms, etc. I also drew inspiration for this scene from season one of Gossip Girl- for fans of the show I bet you can guess where._**

**_Please note, not only is this chapter yet to be beta'd, it also had a mix up with the dates. 2001 is the correct year and should align with the prologue (labelled at the moment as 2014 and so I will correct it soon)- as such, this chapter does show you what happens next. I chose this, with the help of A. E. Seaflame, to alleviate the gap between the prologue and events leading up to it- you'd have to go through the seven years and more otherwise lol. The story will continue as normal in the next chapter. A big thank you again to followers and reviewers, especially all my friends on the Diagon Alley II forum. _**


	9. Chapter 8

**~1991~**

**A White Christmas**

**_A/N: Yes, we are back to Jen's adventures. This chapter again is a little more of a filler, though I did try to make it interesting. I can't imagine what it would be like to spend Christmas by myself, let alone at 11 years old. I thus hope I was able to touch on what she would feel like, if only a little bit. Thank you all for continuing to read :)_**

The atmosphere at Hogwarts was buzzing with excitement at the prospect of the Christmas holidays. The castle was decorated with holly strung from the stair bannisters and large, gold, green and red ornaments hung from the ceiling. Hagrid had brought in a few extraordinarily large fir trees from the forest, hoisting them up easily and setting them in the Great Hall for the students to marvel at. Other students milled about in the corridors, chatting excitedly about their plans and dodging snowballs Peeves threw at them.

It seemed like everyone in the castle was enjoying the last few days before they could go home, except for one.

Jennifer sat in her favourite little nook in the library, tapping her pen furiously against the book before her. It was just not fair. Not only did she have to hurriedly complete her final assignment for a school she didn't even attend, she didn't get to spend Christmas with her family. Angry tears sprung into her eyes as she sat there, feeling sorry for herself.

Her mother had sent a letter earlier that morning, informing her of their plans for Christmas. Unfortunately, these plans did not include her. Oh, she wasn't in any trouble or ill favour; no, her mother had wished her a Merry Christmas over and over again in the letter, which was accompanied by a few small parcels 'to be strictly opened on Christmas day'. It was simply a case of funding her flight home and making arrangements for her to be picked up.

She knew she was being a little unfair; flights to and from Australia were very expensive. Whilst her family was fairly well off, it did not mean that purchasing a ticket would not affect their Christmas budget; given that her grandfather was the one who had inherited the Kentwell fortune, and decided that he would not see it wasted on trivial expenses that they didn't need. Still, she thought, her parents didn't have to tell him how or where they spent their money all the time. Didn't they want to see her? She was supposed to go and attend school in the last few weeks but the school thought it a waste of time; most of the work was finished and the remainder of school time was dedicated to cleaning out classrooms and Christmas-themed colouring activities.

The blue pen she was using, which also happened to be her last, tore a whole into the paper as she applied unnecessary pressure.

"Great, just great." She mumbled as she tried to perform a spell to repair the damage. As it were, she was too angry and upset to correctly use it, and ended up ripping the paper in half.

"Do you need some help? Here, let me. Repairo."

A hand pulled her work forwards and, within a second, it looked unblemished.

"Thanks Hermione."

"It's ok, it's a really handy spell if you want me to… no worries." The brunette trailed off upon noticing that she was clearly in a foul mood.

Jennifer had been avoiding her other roommates all day. Although Parvati and Lavender were upset for her when she told them she was staying at the school, the girls continued to giggle excitedly about their own plans when they thought she couldn't hear. It only served to drive home the knowledge that she would be missing out on her own traditions.

"Would you like some company?" Without waiting for an answer, Hermione pulled out a chair and pulled over the sheet of paper bearing the assignment's instructions. "This says it was due last week" she looked at her, astonished that someone would dare to leave an assignment so late.

"I know." Jennifer snatched back the paper, not wanting to be criticised on her tardiness, again.

"Well, why didn't you hand it in?"

Letting out a sigh, she explained her slip up. "I just got caught up in stuff, ok? I forgot there was a history task."

"You mean you got caught up in celebrating the Quidditch victory and hanging around with Parvati and Lavender?"

The glare she sent her answered her question.

"I don't know why people hate assignments really. It's the only way to learn. I would actually have loved to have been able to do my primary school's homework- there's so much I don't know yet."

"You can do mine if you want." She stared at her companion incredulously, wondering how in Merlin's beard she managed to do so well in class.

Hermione sighed herself, repeating the words she did so often. "If I do your work for you, how will you ever learn?" When Jennifer rolled her eyes and started scribbling on the corner of the page, she hastily continued. "But I can help you. It looks like you've run out of pens too. Funny, isn't it, that muggles don't still use quills. I rather like the smell of ink myself, there's something so, romantic I guess, about using the old techniques of writing. Well, never mind, I have a spare pen in here somewhere, I didn't know if I'd need it here so packed it just in case."

Jennifer had no choice but to give into the girl's enthusiastic ramble, opening on to a fresh page and writing a new title. She looked expectantly at Hermione, who shook her head and picked up a book, instructing her on possible topics she could write about.

It was almost half an hour into the project when Hermione spoke up.

"So, I heard you might be staying at Hogwarts. I bet you'll miss Australia?"

"Yep."

"It doesn't snow there, does it? Well, not at Christmas" When Jennifer shook her head, she sheepishly added "I might have researched it. I've always found the country so fascinating; the convict history, the old architecture, the differing climates across the states and territories, the diversity."

"Yea, it's alright I guess."

"Alright? It's amazing from what I've heard! I'm trying to convince my parents to go there."

"Cool. What is the difference between recycling and reusing again? Oh, wait, don't worry."

Jennifer continued scribbling nonsense on the paper, desperate to finish it and be able to hand it in to Professor McGonagall. She was almost done, yet Hermione's talk about Australia continued to dredge up unwanted memories of previous Christmases. She bit her lip, trying to find a way to conclude her writing.

"Oh, fine, let me do it then." Hermione took the paper off her, after she continued hinting at wanting help by clasping her hands together and begging. Hermione didn't seem to mind, however, as the girl took to writing down the arguments they had discussed.

"There, done. Now you can send it home. How is that going to work though? Don't classes over there finish in a day or so? Owls won't get there on time."

The brunette was right; no way would owls have been able to get the pile of work to Australia in time, even if they flew all day and night. Usually, Jennifer would send her work using one or two of the school's barn owls. They would carry it to a depot in the north of England, where it would be tied to another owl and sent to another depot. The process would continue until the package arrived in Sydney, where an elderly witch would post it through the muggle post to her parents.

"Professor McGonagall's going to send it by flew to Australia and it will go from there. Boy, she was mad when I told her I wasn't finished yet; hopefully she won't be too mad if she sees this though. Thank you, it's brilliant."

Hermione had given her quite a few ideas on the importance of keeping the environment clean through the tried and tested methods of 'reduce, reuse and recycle'. Her work was neatly written and, with the help of her new friend, was divided into decipherable paragraphs. She had even gone to the effort of drawing a few little pictures to accompany the text, labelled neatly by Hermione as she tried to connect them to her information.

"You're welcome. I was wondering though, if you didn't mind, if you could tell me about what you do at Christmas?"

Jennifer's relieved smile faded as she considered the request. Although the work had distracted her somewhat from her disappointment, she was still a little hurt at the prospect of being by herself over the break. However, she couldn't very well refuse to answer, as the girl had done her a massive favour. Reluctantly, she told her some of the things she got up to.

"Well, on the weekend near the 1st of December, mum will get the tree out and help us decorate it. Most of our decorations are old ones that my oldest sister made when she was in school, but it still looks pretty. We have these reindeer ornaments that my little brother and I argue over as we both want to put them on the tree. Usually I end up taking them off and putting them back on after he leaves the room." Hermione laughed gently at Jennifer's antics.

"At school, we, the choir, usually sing and put on an assembly performance. The last day of school is a fun day and we all usually have a day at the local pool, swimming and running around on the grass outside. I try to give all my friends some candy canes and a card too. Oh-" she rummaged around in her bag, eventually finding a slightly melted red and white candy cane and giving it to Hermione, "-my mum sent these for me. Sorry, it's a little sticky probably because it's been squashed in my bag all day." She mistook the wetness of Hermione's eyes for disappointment and blushed, embarrassed that the way she always seemed to be so messy.

"Thank you."

"No worries. The best part of Christmas is on Christmas day. Every morning, my sister and I would get up at around 4.30 and sneak into the lounge room to see what Santa left us. We would hide torches under our bed so we didn't need to turn on any lights. We didn't share a room last year but she remembered to wake me up anyway. Eventually, my little brother gets the rest of the family up and we have breakfast. Mum makes punch and then we open presents. Sometimes, if it's hot enough, we go for a swim in the pool and use all our floats."

"Sounds nice. I'm sorry you don't get to do that now. My parents and I do something similar, except I don't wake up until seven and we have a nice roast dinner together."

"Yea, me too." She was thoughtful for a moment, calming herself to not be so sad. "So, you're an only child I take it?"

"Yes; just mum, dad and I. I wouldn't mind having a younger sister or brother though."

"Trust me; they can be a real pain."

The girls giggled, as Jennifer elaborated on stories about her brother and sisters. She told her about the time William had put a foil packet of ketchup from McDonalds in the microwave, and had panicked when it caught fire. She left out the part where she managed to put it out without thinking and continued to laugh, thankful that there was someone she could relate to and who knew about all things muggle.

"Well, if it helps, you're not the only one who will be here over Christmas. The Weasleys are staying over the break as their parents are visiting one of their sons, so Ron will be here. Harry will be too."

Although Hermione's tone was intended to be comforting, Jennifer felt ashamed at her earlier behaviour. It was a little petty to be so angry with her parents when they did their best to ensure she was safe and healthy. She knew Harry's parents had been murdered and couldn't imagine having to spend every Christmas without relatives. He probably had somewhere to go, surely, but being at Hogwarts away from family wasn't easy.

She continued to think about his circumstances when she realised she had yet to tell Hermione about Malfoy. Trying to find a way to put it, she braced herself to be laughed at.

"Hermione? What do you think of Malfoy?"

"I think he's a pretentious little prat who does nothing but bully other people. Why?"

"Agreed. Do you think he would do anything to hurt Harry? Like, something really bad."

The girl looked at her suspiciously. "Why would you ask that? Do you think something's going to happen to him?"

"Well, yes and no. I dunno. It's just that, I think he was the one who could have let the troll in. He probably also tried to make Harry fall off his broom the other week."

"I don't think that Malfoy could do that." Hermione began slowly, "I know he hates Harry but he wouldn't be capable of that. I wouldn't worry about him."

"Oh."

Hermione seemed to be considering something as she opened her mouth to speak and snapped it shut again. Jennifer began to pack up the mess she had left on the table, carefully placing her book into her bag so as to not crinkle it.

"Well, thanks again for helping. Is there anything you need help with?"

"It was my pleasure. No, I'm right thanks, my homework's already done and now I just need to get on with a study planner. I'd better get to it actually."

"I'll see you later then." Jennifer smiled, genuinely hoping that Hermione would join the girls in their mini holiday feast that night. Just as she went to leave the library, she was called back.

"Oh, just one question. I was doing some, uh, research, the other day and came across a name I wasn't familiar with. You wouldn't happen to have heard of anyone by the name of Nicolas Flamel, would you? I thought maybe since you were Australian he had been mentioned over there."

"Sorry, not that I know of. Did you want me to help look now?"

"Oh, no, no. It's fine, I was just curious. Never mind, I'm sure I'll find it somewhere. I'll see you later."

Christmas morning dawned bright and early as Jennifer jumped out of bed. She had slept in slightly, awaking at eight o'clock, not sure if it really was Christmas. The small pile of presents that sat at the foot of her bed indicated it was.

It didn't feel right opening the presents by herself. The room was empty; save for Mishka who was sleeping on Lavender's neatly made bed. It was a little eerie if he was honest; usually the room had at least one occupant, or, on the off chance it was empty, the room showed signs of girls having lived there with sheets and clothes strewn on the floor.

Nevertheless, she eagerly tore open the packages, making sure to leave a few bits of paper on the floor. Daphne had given her a beautiful pair of small emerald studs; she exchanged the plain gold sleepers already in her lobes, admiring how they fit in with Christmas colours. She had made sure to give the girl a present before she left, passing the wrapped up jewellery box to her as Nott watched nearby. The rest of her gifts varied from chocolate frogs given by Hermione, nail polish and lip-gloss sets, some money, and a few clothes here and there. Even Mishka benefited from the holiday, where her mother had sent a few tins of fish in her package.

When she got to the last presents she cheered up. Two neatly wrapped boxes, one significantly smaller than the other, were from her parents and siblings. She decided to open the larger parcel first, smiling at the small tag which bore her sisters' and brother's names; the three of them had tried to squeeze their names onto its surface without too much success- Elizabeth's untidy scrawl was cut off by the cardboard's edge. Inside the wrapping was a thick leather book, wrapped inside a large, soft cloth. Curious, she gently pulled the material away to reveal the title, _The Cantwell Chronical_. Her hands glided over the soft brown cover, allowing her fingers to roam the indented print, before she flipped through a couple of the pages. From what she gathered, the book contained a history of her mother's side of the family, albeit a slight difference with the old spelling of the name. Some of the pages were written in Latin, or so she thought, and she made a mental note to ask Hermione or Padma for a translation. She put it aside, and turned to the gift from her parents.

She gasped when she opened the box, revealing a small wooden box containing a ring. The band was gold and arched up to hold onto the small ruby heart, flanked by two tiny diamond chips. She slipped it on to the thickest finger on her hand, the middle finger on her left, feeling it sit a little loosely. Her mother had attached a note in the box, pleading with her not to lose it, deeming her responsible enough now to take care of it. Touched that her mother considered her somewhat mature, she placed it back in its box and hid it in her trunk.

Grudgingly getting dressed, she headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast. The four house tables had been pushed together to form one long table, and was filled with different food options.

Jennifer took a seat close to the Weasley twins and helped herself to a large pile of scrambled eggs. As she ate, she could hear them talking about their plans for the day and complaining about their sweaters itching. Only a few owls entered the hall from above, carrying some last minute presents and letters to students who had chosen to stay behind. When none of the packages were for her, she continued her breakfast.

When the students slowly began to disperse from the hall, she decided to get up herself and explore outside. It had only begun snowing the day before, but she had been too preoccupied with preparing presents and bidding her friends farewell to go outside. It was now the perfect opportunity to see the snow for the first time, without too many people to witness her childish antics.

The wind blew, making her face feel as though it had been plunged into a bucket of iced water. She shivered and pulled her cloak tighter around her, glad one of the items she had been given was a warm woollen jumper. Her Gryffindor scarf whipped around her face as her feet crunched along the thick white blanket of snow. A few strands of her brown hair flew onto her lips, sticking unpleasantly to the lip gloss she had applied earlier.

When she came across a patch of snow near the lake, she looked around to make sure no one was watching, and flung her arms out. She spun around laughing, trying to catch the few falling snowflakes on her tongue before they could melt. When she finally got dizzy from all her spinning and jumping around in joy, she fell to the ground and tried to create a snow angel. Unfortunately, she gave up a few minutes later, having not expected the ground to be quite so cold, let alone wet. It was when she was examining the small patch of water on the back of her track suit pants that she was hit in the head by a ball of snow.

"Ouch! What-"

She rubbed the sore spot as two familiar orange-haired pranksters came jogging up.

"Oops, sorry-"

"We didn't mean to hit you-"

"-at least not quite so hard."

She looked back and forth at the Weasley twins as they spoke, blinking away the involuntary tears that had sprung to eyes upon impact. Luckily for her, they didn't appear to have noticed and stood grinning, looking around the grounds for their next victim.

"That's ok."

"We'd love to stay and chat, but-"

"-we have some business to attend to-"

"-and we can't lose Ronnie-kins!"

One of the boys bent down and scooped some soft snow into his hands. He began to pat them together and formed a decent sphere. He looked to his brother slyly, pointing to a mound of snow that someone had built up. His brother nodded silently, winking as he motioned for Jennifer to stay quiet.

The boys began to run quickly in unison, their knees bent slightly to avoid detection. When they were about a metre from the mound, they looked to each other before throwing their snowballs. Their efforts paid off when she heard a muffled "ow" come from behind it, followed by the sound of another boy laughing.

Jennifer had never, ever been in a snowball fight, but that didn't stop her from joining in. Her aim was fairly good, although her snowballs weren't; most of them fell apart in her hand, resembling piles of white slosh. She had a fantastic time running around, pegging the balls of ice at the students who joined in to play. More than a few times she was ambushed from behind, the culprits running away to invisible hideouts before she could enact her revenge. At one time she had almost hit Professor Quirrell as he walked past; she had quickly ducked down behind a bush, hoping he didn't know who threw it.

By the end of the day, she was exhausted. When she had finally managed to dry off in front of the common room's fire, she had wandered off down the castle hallways, hoping to familiarise herself with each wing for future reference. She hadn't had any luck, however, in finding the castle's kitchens or any of the other common rooms by the time the Christmas feast was served. The extravagant meal had filled her up and now she lied on her bed, sleep slowly taking over.

Although she hadn't been with her family like she had hoped, she was happy that she had remained at the castle after all. Nothing could compare to the familiarity of her home, yet she had surprised herself with the amount of times she had been able to laugh and have fun. As her eyes began to flutter closed, she thought perhaps her mother was right; she was more responsible now, and she resolved that she would continue to behave that way.


	10. Chapter 9

**Mind your own business**

**_A/N: I know, I know, she seems to be spending an awful lot of time in the library, especially for a Gryffindor. Unfortunately, it just happens to be an amazingly convenient location. This scene has a little more action for you, and I assure you it will start holding information to coincide with the Prologue. A big thank you to TwilightMoonbeams for her continual reviews (they are really helping with any plot holes and ideas) and to all my readers and followers, including the latest :) The inclusion of muggle work will become clearer too; I am currently toying with an idea to do with the Aussie ministry representatives, which will link to the story._**

**_Harry Potter and all associated characters/ places/ objects/ things… belong to J. K. Rowling. _**

Daphne and Jennifer packed up their notes, having finished another afternoon of studying; this time for the upcoming school exams. Hermione had been too preoccupied to accompany them, although Jennifer had the distinct feeling her absence could have been because of the company she kept, again. The girls headed out the door, turning their conversation to the letter Jennifer had received that morning.

"I still don't understand how you could be so calm about it. I mean, if my parents had decided to go to Milan without me this Christmas, I would've freaked."

"Freaked? I've never heard you use that word before. Anyway, I'm sure there's just some misunderstanding. My family probably didn't even go to New Zealand; it's probably just another joke my sister is playing on me. And even if it was true, it's not like New Zealand is known for shops housing wizarding fashion or anything."

"I know, they don't." Daphne stuck her nose in the air, clearly happy that she had been able to spend her holidays in Italy, shopping to her heart's content.

"I'm sure they'll explain what they did soon. Right now, I just want to concentrate on getting through the rest of the year. My sister said they weren't happy that I handed in that assignment late; apparently the ministry's representative or whoever had checked in with the school."

"Huh, I've never heard of that before. I had a cousin who attended Beauxbatons on my mother's side, but she never handed in any muggle work. Of course, her mother lived over in France at the time and she definitely wouldn't have been near any muggles." Daphne's face contorted into a weird expression, her nose crinkling at the thought of a family member being anywhere near muggles.

"I'm just lucky McGonagall got it in. She didn't mention anything about the minister rep, so maybe Anne was just making something else up."

"Probably."

As the girls opened the library doors, they were met with a commotion outside.

"How do you like that Longbottom? That'll teach you to start spreading rumours about me."

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were laughing as the former taunted someone lying on the ground. Daphne walked briskly over to Nott, who was leaning against the wall, an amused smirk on his face.

"What's going on?"

"Just some free entertainment."

Jennifer edged closer, keeping her distance from the Slytherins but moving forward enough to see who was on the ground. She gasped as she seen Neville there; his knees appeared to be locked together and his face was scrunched up.

"What did you do?" She hurriedly went to him, bending down to see what was wrong.

"Just taught Longbottom here a lesson; seems he needs to learn to keep his fat trap shut."

"Are you alright? Malfoy, you can't just go hexing anyone you want to; how do I fix this?"

"Yea? I think you'll find I can." Malfoy smirked, gaining another gauffle of laughter from his followers.

Jennifer looked at her fellow Gryffindor helplessly, realising that a leg-locker curse had been placed on him. She didn't know the counter-curse for it.

"Put him back to normal or I'll go and get Madame Pince or someone."

"Oooh, I'm so scared."

She looked to Daphne, hoping the girl could help her, or at least go and get someone who could. Unfortunately, the girl was looking at everyone but her, avoiding meeting her eyes. Nott just winked; he was clearly happy that she was in trouble.

"I'm serious. Take it off him."

"And I'm serious when I say there's absolutely no chance of that happening. Besides," Malfoy nudged Neville with his polished shoe, "this is just the start of what I'll do to him if he continues to talk about me."

"Why on earth would he want to talk about you?"

"That's what I'd like to know. Longbottom here thinks it's funny to go around telling people that I'm trying to kill Potter. Of course, my day would be made if something happened to Scarhead, but it's not funny when he tries to get me into trouble."

"I didn't say anything." Neville wiggled around, trying to get up; his efforts were rewarded with another swift kick from Malfoy.

"Yea? Then why was that Bell chick from the Quidditch team glaring at me the other day? I know you speak to her, and I know what she thinks."

"That was me."

As soon as she confessed, she regretted it. Neville didn't deserve to be punished, but that didn't mean she wanted the attention of Malfoy and his friends. She tried to stop her hands shaking as the group stared at her.

"You? You were the one talking about me?"

"Yes. I'm on to you." She tried to sound brave, making her voice as steady as possible.

"On to me? You Gryffs are crazier than I thought!" He started laughing, allowing his two bodyguards to join in. Daphne looked uncomfortable, whilst Nott's expression was an odd mix of confusion and amusement.

"I know about the troll, and I know what you did to his broom."

Malfoy's face contorted into anger as he suddenly stepped forward and gripped her forearm painfully. She let out a yelp, trying to back closer to the library and hoping another student or professor would walk by.

"Look, whatever you think you know, you don't. I don't appreciate little Gryffindors like you going around and dragging my name into the mud. Got it? I won't hesitate to try a few more curses out on you if you keep it up." His eyes bored into hers, making her cringe away even further.

"You're hurting me."

"I don't care. You're all the same, and I don't mean Gryffindorks. If I here that you're going around telling your friends stuff about me, I will-"

"Draco, stop. Let's just go ok? She didn't mean anything, I'm sure." Daphne finally stepped in, pushing the boy gently on the shoulder. When he didn't immediately move, she urged him, "c'mon, a prefect's coming."

Jennifer looked around, not seeing anyone approaching, but Malfoy seemed to buy the lie. He let go of her arm, kicking Neville again before nodding to his friends to follow him. Daphne threw her a quick look to check that she was alright, before she too continued down the hallway. Nott, on the other hand, lingered behind.

"So that's why you were sorted into Gryffindor."

"Shove off Nott."

"Oh, so now you're going to act all tough with me too?"

"Unless you can help me with Neville, I'd say get lost."

"Sadly, no. Even if I could, I wouldn't."

"So why are you still standing here?"

"Because watching you two struggle is amusing." He smirked, knowing it was so easy to get on her nerves.

"You are so-"

"-smart? Charming? Handsome? I know."

"I was going to say so smug and arrogant, but disgusting would fit better."

Neville smiled as she pulled his left arm around her shoulder, her knees buckling slightly with the added weight. They swayed for a moment before she could balance him. They took a few tentative steps forward before Neville's knees gave way and they were pulled to the floor.

"I'd tell you that you were pathetic, but it's getting a little boring now." Nott smiled despite himself; it was just too good.

"Seriously? You're not going to help?"

"Why would I?"

"Because you're a decent human being and it's the right thing to do?"

"You just said I was disgusting. Besides, you seem to be doing a marvellous job. It's not right for me to intrude on your typical lion 'goody two-shoes' efforts."

Jennifer helped Neville up again, eventually finding it easier to have him link his arm through hers and support himself by extending his other hand out. She knew they looked ridiculous, especially as they had no alternative than to have him hop.

"See you around." Nott shook his head, a smile still covering his face, and walked towards the library's entrance.

It was a difficult journey to Gryffindor tower, but the two first years managed it. They got into a comfortable rhythm, in which Jennifer would take a couple of steps forward and Neville would jump. They had to take a few rests, of course, slowing down even further. The only students they passed were a couple of Ravenclaws making out in a side passageway and a group of second year Slytherins who laughed at their awkward pace.

To say it was a relief to finally crawl through the portrait hole was an understatement; the feat in itself talking a few minutes as she tried to push Neville through. Hermione was in the room and ran to their aid, as did a few other first years.

"What happened?"

"Malfoy did." Jennifer let Neville retell his version of the events, too exhausted to speak herself.

Harry and Seamus encouraged them to go and tell a teacher, as Ron tried to get Neville to physically fight Malfoy. Hermione, of course, was more practical, agreeing that Dumbledore should be informed of the bullying immediately as she undid Neville's invisible bounds. She didn't say anything to Jennifer about her part in the incident until later that evening as they got ready for bed.

"You shouldn't have said anything to Malfoy."

"And let Neville get hurt?"

"You know what I mean. He knows now that you've been saying things about him."

"So? You have to agree that he's been acting fishy, and the things that have happened can't just be a coincidence."

"Yes, that is true. But where is your proof?"

"What?"

"Do you have any proof that he's done anything like that? And no, before you say it, the conversation you overheard a while back doesn't count." Hermione obviously knew that she was going to use that as her evidence, getting to it before she could open her mouth.

Jennifer huffed in annoyance, sitting on her bed and stroking Mishka. The cat, in turn, purred happily, digging her fluffy grey paws into the sheets. Hermione continued getting ready herself, attempting to run a brush through her bushy hair before giving up when it wouldn't budge.

"I'm just saying, if you do think he's up to something you need to have evidence to back it all up. Dumbledore won't believe you if you just go around accusing somebody, even if it is Malfoy."

"Who said I'd go to Dumbledore? Ok, fine, I will." Hermione had given her the infamous 'are you kidding me right now?' look, so she attempted to appease her. Of course, she had absolutely no intention of telling the headmaster or any professor until she at least told Harry. "You're right though, I do need proof. I guess I'll just have to go and find some, maybe catch Malfoy in the act."

"You do… wait, that's not what I meant at all."

"Night Hermione." She slipped into her bed, pulling Mishka comfortingly close to her pillow as she did when at home.

Hermione continued to explain what she had said, muttering every so often about the 'stubborn people' she was forced to share a room with. It was only when Parvati threw a pillow in the girl's direction and not so politely told her to 'shut up' that she went quiet.

Jennifer, on the other hand, started formulating a few plans of her own. She had always wanted to be a spy when she grew up, using toys from McDonald's promotions and random pieces of junk from around the house on her pretend missions. Now she really did have a chance to tail someone, and this time her efforts had to count.


	11. Chapter 10

**Espionage and Quidditch**

**_A/N: All recognisable content belongs to J. K. Rowling._**

**_Another quick, but hopefully somewhat interesting, chapter for you. I wasn't planning on writing it, let alone publishing it, but it was fun to write. I understand too that the usual SpaG may be prevalent, even after checking several times, and that I still need to change the dates in the prologue and first chapter; just a friendly reminder, it is trying to follow canon as much as possible. Thank you to my lovely readers, reviewers, and followers; I really hope this story is what you expected, or if it isn't, that you are enjoying it nonetheless. I did find it a little hard again to capture eleven year olds, so I give extra credit to your imagination. The ending sort of cuts out too but…well… um… no excuse for that haha. Please enjoy!_**

**_Edit: I may have just realised she was wearing black during the day; it was supposed to be set during late afternoon/ evening so I've fixed it :)_**

"What are you doing?"

Jennifer jumped, her heart racing at the unexpected company. She desperately needed to be inconspicuous, yet apparently her espionage skills were lacking. She rolled over onto her back, peering into the late afternoon sunshine at two tall, shadowy figures.

"I think we just caught a first year…"

"…doing something that she shouldn't be doing…"

"…and thus, it can only be our obligation…"

"…as responsible third years…"

"…to find out what."

George and Fred stood before her, each wearing an identical large grin. They waited for her to explain herself and she looked around uncomfortably.

"I'm not doing anything." She sat up and attempted to remove some of the grass clinging to her black leggings.

"Did hear that Forge? She's doing nothing."

"Indeed I did Gred, indeed I did. So, little one, why is there black stuff all over your face?" He touched her cheek before pulling away and examining the makeup on his thumb and forefinger.

Lavender and Parvati had spent the first part of the afternoon after lunch trying to convince her out of spying on Malfoy. She hadn't told them exactly what she was planning, but had mentioned that it involved a little sneaking around. Whilst they couldn't understand how anyone would find that fun, they changed their minds when they saw her picking out her darkest clothes. Lavender confirmed that she wasn't turning into some 'punk/ Goth' witch before she whipped out her own copy of _Witching_, the magazine aimed at stylish girls from the age of ten, and an old eye liner pencil that she expertly smudged across her cheeks, alike she did with red lipstick the previous Quidditch match. Although it wouldn't be dark for a few hours, her black attire was chosen because many of her favourite muggle characters wore it on television in similar schemes.

"I, well, uh, I-"

"As we thought." One of the twins smirked, nudging his brother.

"If we weren't mistaken-"

"-which we hardly ever are-"

"-you look like you were watching someone."

She looked from one boy to the other, still wondering how they managed to finish each other's sentences. She often heard them speak that way and supposed it was a twin thing. Sometimes Parvati and Padma would seem to know what the other was thinking and share meaningful looks without speaking, and Jennifer found that eerie enough.

"The question is, what to do now?"

They continued looking at her expectantly before glancing at each other. The next thing she knew, they were lying either side of her, their hands supporting their chins and their legs kicking back and forth behind them. She tried to stifle a laugh.

"Fine, I'm trying to find out what, um, someone, is up to."

"And this someone would be?"

"Um..."

"No, no, let us guess."

"Oh, yes! A game. Let's see."

The boys looked around, trying to spot the mysterious person she was talking about. They were on a slight hill, overlooking a small area of the grounds near the Quidditch pitch. Judging from the way both boys still wore shoulder pads under their robes (or so she assumed that's what they were), they had come from a late team practice.

"Give us a clue…"

"Yea, give us a clue! It's not fair to leave us hanging." They both looked at her with big eyes, making their lips tremble. She giggled slightly and gave in- she didn't have to tell them who it was, and if they did guess, they didn't need to know why.

"Fine. Ok, um, let's see…" she thought hard to find a detail she could give them that wasn't so obvious, "…Ok. It's a boy."

The boys looked around, identifying several possible candidates before a mischievous glint simultaneously filled their eyes.

"A boy?" One of the twins looked to his brother, a look of mock surprise finding its way to his face.

"A boy?!" His twin wore the same expression, before directing it at her.

"Could it be possible that-"

"No, she's too innocent. A first year couldn't…"

"Oh, the horror! She's in… oh Forge, I can't say it, it's too hard…"

"Allow me brother dear, she's in… love!"

One of them placed a hand on her forehead. "She hasn't got a fever, it mustn't be too late."

"Quick, to Angie! She will sort this out."

Before she could protest, she was dragged to her feet as the twins leapt up. They both grabbed an elbow each and toed her in the direction of Angelina Johnson, who was walking out from the Quidditch pitch.

"Angelina, oh Angelina, it's a tragedy!"

"It must be if you aren't calling me by my first name. What's up?" She raised a perfect eyebrow at the trio.

"This little Gryffindor is… in love!"

The boys promptly let go of her, falling to the floor as one and pretending to cry. Angelina looked at Jennifer, shaking her head in sympathy for her.

"Don't mind them."

"But, but…Angie! You must say something." One of the gingers crawled forward on his knees, grasping his hands and shaking them at her in a plea.

"Yes, Angie, tell her she's too young! Think of the innocent children in our house! We can't have them corrupted."

"Fine, if it will stop you two fools." The smile on her face indicated her hidden joy, as did the barest hint of a blush that she hid as she turned her face towards Jennifer. "Alright, listen up. All I will tell you is that you should never cry over a boy…" she leant in a little closer, whispering in her ear, "but tell me, is he good looking?"

"It's not like that!"

Angelina simply winked, before telling the boys to shoo and go and have a shower. As they protested, she spotted the blonde boy she had been tailing head off further across the field, making his way to what looked like the Forbidden Forest.

"Anyways, I have to go. Things to do, people to see, you know how it is!" She made to run off, but was stopped by Angelina, who looked a little concerned.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you."

"Oh, no, I know you didn't, I'm not…"

"Don't worry, when you get a little older you'll find you'll have heaps of crushes around here, as will everyone."

"Oh, yea, um, I probably will..." she was distracted, trying to catch another glimpse of Malfoy as he disappeared further away from where they stood.

"and don't let the boys throw you off. They're not all idiots around here." Angelina sighed, looking over at the twins as they began rolling around on the dewy grass. She turned back and pointed to her face, "you might want to get that off your face though."

Jennifer rubbed at her cheek, only to smudge the black. She thanked the older girl before running towards the forest, hoping to catch up to Malfoy.

Unfortunately, a minute later, as she stood panting a few metres from the pumpkin patch Hagrid was growing, she realised that she had lost him. She knew she should try to find him, but she also knew that the forest was off limits to students, and in no way felt it was wise to earn a detention by going near the place. She continued standing there for a few more minutes, hoping that he would reappear, or at least one of his bodyguard cronies would follow him. When no such sign occurred, she sighed in defeat and trudged back up to Gryffindor tower resignedly to shower; her mood didn't improve along the way as Peeves tried to 'help' her by pelting water bombs at her on the second floor.

* * *

><p>The next weekend found Jennifer once more dressed up in support of her house. It was a Saturday and time from the Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff match. She admired her choice of clothing this time, smiling and giggling along with Lavender and Parvati as they entered the pitch.<p>

The girls had decided to tone down their looks. Whilst each continued to wear red lipstick on their cheeks, they traded their gold hair streaks for red and gold headbands and ribbons. Jennifer had even managed to encourage Hermione to dress up a little, as she consented to wear a small red flower hair-piece, which was eventually hidden by her bushy main. Their Gryffindor scarves blew behind them in the cold air, making the girls hurry to find a seat. Hermione had saved them a few seats near her, conjuring up a small blue flame in a jar for which the girls were grateful for.

As the last of the attending students finally shuffled into their seats, the game began. From the minute Madame Hooch blew her whistle, the players were off and the game continued at a fast pace.

Parvati and Hermione cheered together, hugging each other when Gryffindor scored before looking away, dismayed. Although Hermione had been trying harder to be nicer to her room-mates, Jennifer could tell that some tension still remained between the brunette and Parvati and Lavender. Neither party wanted to off the other; it was simply a case of different interests that they couldn't, or wouldn't, ever share.

"Are we still going to do the cheerleading thing?" Lavender yelled at Jennifer over the crowd; Gryffindor had scored another twenty points.

"Of course! We just need to figure out all the details."

"I want to hold auditions. Like, we ask people to stand in front of us and we can tell them yes or no."

"Then I don't know how you'd ever get in." A cold voice interrupted their conversation.

The girls turned around, realising that a few Slytherins had been standing behind them. Jennifer shuddered, wondering how long both Malfoy and Nott had been there.

"Why aren't you with the Slytherins?" Lavender shot back at him, glaring at his insult.

"We thought it would be fun to watch the Gryffindorks all cry when their team lost." Malfoy nudged Crabbe, smirking.

"Ugh, whatever. We're busy, if you can't tell." Lavender turned around, folding her arms.

Malfoy's icy grey eyes bore into Jennifer's, before he focused his attention on the game. She shivered, wondering if he knew what she had been up to the last week. Apart from her adventures the Sunday evening before, she had tried to watch what he did between classes whilst avoiding the Weasleys. Her efforts only showed poor results, in which Malfoy only seemed to eat meals or retreat to the dungeons.

She spent the remainder of the match half-listening to Lavender's ideas as she tried to hear what Malfoy was saying to his friends. She expected an attack from him and thus could not enjoy the spectacular sight before her.

"GRYFFINDOR WIN!"

Their stand erupted in cheers, but Jennifer's attention was on the scene unfolding behind her. Malfoy had just insulted Ron's family, and the two were currently rolling around under Hermione's chair, throwing punches here and there. Neville, too, had apparently taken the advice he had been given before and was trying to hit both Crabbe and Goyle, his chubby hands curled into fists as he bounced back and forth on his toes. In a blink of an eye he too was on the ground, pushing Goyle off him before falling unconscious.

"Oh Merlin!"

Only a few people had turned around in their seats to watch; some, like Dean Thomas, pumped their fists in the air as they split their attention between Harry, who was holding the snitch high in the air and circling the pitch, and Malfoy, who was pinching his bloody nose.

"I think someone should get them some help."

Eventually Malfoy retreated, sending a dark glare to everyone watching as Ron was enveloped in Hermione's hug; she had been too busy watching Harry to even notice the quick fight. Jennifer tried to get her attention but she had already grabbed Ron's arm and dragged him down a few stairs, eventually disappearing into the sea of students eager to get to the common room and celebrate.

Nott stayed back, looking at Jennifer. "He's not happy now, but imagine if he found out what you have been doing."

"What do you mean?"

He didn't immediately reply, choosing to smirk. When Lavender eventually paused in her gossip with Parvati over who the cutest player was and turned to them, he turned to leave, "nice make up. I like it better in black."

Jennifer froze, the uncomfortable, squirmy feeling taking over her body again. He knew. She was thankful that Lavender finally spotted Neville lying at the end of their row, providing a distraction from the worry consuming her.

"Um, yuck. Blood is so disgusting."

She was even more thankful that tact still existed in her year as Seamus and a second year boy took it upon themselves to help the boy, hoisting him up and leading him to the hospital wing.


	12. Chapter 11

**_Hi everyone! _**

**_I don't own anything you recognise- all Harry Potter references in this story remain the property of J. K. Rowling and co. _**

**_This chapter doesn't have too much action in it per se; I hope it doesn't come across as weird. The ending is a little abrupt so let me know if I should fix it- I was hoping it would lead into the next chapter but I don't know if it was too cut off. I also had to think of the potion name at the top of my head so will fix any inaccuracies later, and I really hope the characters are still…well…in character. Just a reminder that I am still working on changing the dates in the first chapters- I just need to figure out which document I saved as the final edit._**

**_Anyways, as usual, a BIG thank you to every reader and reviewer, and I hope you enjoy this chapter :)_**

The weak morning sunlight filtered through the Great Hall as sleep-deprived students attempted to avoid placing their heads in their food. Many were taking small bites out of toast whilst others tried in vain to fix their loose ties and swap shoes to the correct foot. Barely anyone was talking, save for the students who were flipping through _The Daily Prophet_ and distracting their peers with idle gossip. One thing was clear: exam time at Hogwarts was fast approaching.

Jennifer, her hair tousled from a lack of sleep, though for reasons other than study, smiled as she watched the Weasley twins enter the hall, skipping with joy after having presumably played another successful prank. She found it funny how they managed to wake up the students slouched over, causing them to jump and look around. Unfortunately for Neville, this meant receiving a face full of porridge as his hands fumbled with the bowl in front of him causing it to fly upward as he jerked awake. Stifling a giggle, she grabbed the nearest napkin on the table and helped him wipe it off, as did Katie who was next to her.

"I don't know how those boys can be so happy now," she groaned, shoving the napkin they were using at a flustered Neville, "they're a year above me and yet I'm the one finding it difficult to find time to study with all the homework Snape's giving us and extended Quidditch practices."

"I think it's nice, those two can certainly make anyone happy when they're together." Jennifer smiled, indicating a third year Slytherin on the opposite side of the hall who was trying to stop the grin from spreading further across her face.

Katie smiled, "Yea, those two are a classic case of 'can't live with them, can't live without them'". Anyways, count yourself lucky, not only do first years get it easy but you have a friend who will get you organised no problem."

"I have to disagree with you there. Firstly, unlike every first year I'm going to receive a tonne of homework from Australia. Secondly, as much as she has helped, Hermione had even gone so far as to schedule toilet breaks!" It was true; every 3 minutes between classes a purple block was highlighted in neat writing, allocated for a quick bathroom break to maximise study potential. "She made one for Lavender, but she threw it out because she wasn't given time to fix her hair in the mirror."

Katie shook her head, probably glad that she was allowed to go to the bathroom at her own will.

Exams weren't scheduled for a week or so, yet the entire castle seemed to turn into a bunch of Ravenclaws. The library had been full the previous few weekends, forcing the younger years to retreat to the grounds whilst the more 'important' year groups spread themselves around the room. As a result, Jennifer had not only been subjected to Hermione's constant complaining about the interruption to her schedule, but had missed out on the opportunity to speak with Daphne.

Speaking of the blonde, Jennifer craned her neck to see if she was still in the hall. She had spotted her earlier coming in with Tracey, yet hadn't approached her when she sat at the Slytherin table near Malfoy and his crew. She noticed that there were quite a few blondes lingering by the table as she scanned its length; unfortunately, her eyes met with Nott's as he put down his paper and shook his head.

Jennifer turned back to her food, leaving her own toast untouched. He hadn't said anything else to her since the Quidditch match, yet whenever she happened to glance his way, he would look down at her in mock pity and shake his head at her like she was a foolish child. She wouldn't have been surprised if he patted her on the shoulder and sighed sympathetically; in fact, if it wasn't for the figurative 'Gryffindor/ Slytherin boundary line' established in shared classrooms, she was sure he would have actually done that in the Monday morning Potions lesson. It irritated her to no end and he knew it. She was just thankful that he hadn't mentioned anything to Malfoy, and hoped Daphne wouldn't do the same, as she finally spotted the girl standing by the doors.

She hastily got up, giving Katie the excuse that she was late for lessons. On her part, Katie didn't even bat an eyelid as she began reading through her Charm's textbook, muttering to herself about the different incantations she didn't understand. She didn't give Daphne the chance to give her the slip and ran straight for her little group, ignoring the bewildered looks of students who couldn't fathom why someone else had energy that morning, let alone the fact the that the twins were still able to laugh loudly.

"Daphne! Wait," she panted slightly, glad she had covered quite a distance in a matter of seconds.

Tracey and Millicent stopped whatever they were saying and glared at her, Millicent clenching her jaw.

"Oh, hi Jen. Pleasant morning?"

"Yea, good, uh, can I talk to you?"

"Um, sure. Just a minute," Daphne turned to her friends, telling them that she would catch up. Tracey rolled her eyes before grabbing Millicent by the crook of her rather large arm and pulling her towards the staircase. Just before they began their ascent, she turned back and rolled her eyes, aiming a rude hand gesture towards her. "Ignore them. Ok, so what's the matter?"

Jennifer had gone to return the signal but realised that it probably would not help her convince Daphne to help her.

"Ah, well, you know that thing I asked you to do before?"

Daphne paused in thought, clearly trying to recall the many favours Jennifer had asked in the last week, from everything to picking out the perfect gift for Lavender's upcoming birthday to helping her catch up on Potions. She obviously came to the right memory when she rolled her eyes and sighed drastically.

"You don't mean the part where you have asked me to spy on Draco, do you?"

"Points for guessing correctly?"

"No, absolutely not. I have not changed my mind on that matter."

"Please reconsider! You know I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important. All I need is for you to keep an eye on him and tell me if he does anything…strange."

"What is it exactly that you think he's up to?"

"Nothing, I just, ah, am curious," she really hoped this sounded convincing, but by the way Daphne was eyeing her impatiently, she knew it wasn't. "Pretty please?"

"I'm sorry, but no. I told you before; he hasn't done anything bad at all. Sure he doesn't like your house mates, but you don't like him or his friends either, do you?"

"Well…"

"Exactly," Daphne smirked knowingly, not at all offended by the expected prejudice. "Whatever you think he's done, I don't think he has. You can't blame him for being angry the other week either; he could've gotten into a lot of trouble if your friend told a professor."

"Yea, but-"

"I'm sorry, but my answer is still no. I can't go against my own house anyway."

Jennifer thought for a moment, before she rubbed her arm; the same arm Malfoy had grabbed before. It was a minute before she was rewarded as Daphne once again sighed impatiently, watching her knowingly.

"Ok, fine, fine, you can stop that. If I see him do anything concerning, I will tell you, OK? And that's only IF I think it's truly bad or suspicious," Daphne shrugged her book bag up on to her shoulder, ready to leave, before she added, "And please don't try any more schemes. You weren't placed in Slytherin for a reason."

Jennifer smiled, not caring that her friend had seen right through her little ploy. It would be much easier to have someone on the inside, so to speak, and she trusted the girl despite her Slytherin status. She was also happy that she didn't have to resort to Plan B in appealing to Daphne's more cunning nature by tempting her with the chance to discover Malfoy's secrets. She skipped off to her next class, ready to tell Hermione the news.

Oddly enough, it was Neville who first approached her about Malfoy's misdeeds that afternoon. He had only gotten out of the Hospital Wing the day before, finally having regained consciousness from the Quidditch fight; the same could not be said about Ron, however, who had turned up not long after Neville with a swollen ankle and an infection from some animal's bite. His round face was reddened, and he puffed as he ran to up her as Transfiguration ended.

"Hi, Jennifer, uh, um, hi."

"Oh, hi Neville," Jennifer replied, a little confused at his sudden appearance at her side, though happy to see that he had finally removed the last of his breakfast from his hair. "I'm glad to see you are well."

Parvati and Lavender whispered behind her, giggling and pointing at the pair. Jennifer felt a little uncomfortable; sure they were talking about her. Just as this thought came, Parvati pushed past Neville.

"We're going to Potions before Snape gets there. We'll save you a seat Jen."

Neville's face turned a deeper shade of crimson as Seamus clapped him on the back before following the girls. Remembering the twin's recent teasing about her supposed crush on Harry, Jennifer blushed as well. Although she would have been delighted to learn that a boy, any boy, liked her, she did not feel comfortable standing here with him and allowing gossip to fly.

"I'd better go Neville, you know how Snape gets."

She made to leave, pushing down the guilt she felt at dismissing the boy so easily.

"Oh, yea, he stills gives me the creeps. But I need to talk to you."

"Really, Neville, we're going to be late."

"Oh, ok." His looked down abashed.

Jennifer sighed; why did this have to happen to her? She could only imagine what Parvati and Lavender were saying at the moment. She tried to come up with a solution that would allow her to keep whatever small part of her reputation that was good, without upsetting Neville in the process.

"Ok, fine, can you tell me as we walk?"

This seemed to work for Neville's face lit up with a smile. "Sure."

They turned the corner and ran down the staircase before it changed direction.

"Well, you see, I was just in the Hospital Wing. Madame Pomfrey said I needed to go back for a quick check up this morning."

"Yes…"

"And well, anyway I was walking outside it."

"Ok…"

"I was thinking to myself that I was really happy that I finally stuck up to Malfoy," He smiled to himself at the memory.

"Go on…" She was happy for him, but it really was taking him a long time to get to the point. If the girls were right, she hoped he would hurry up and tell her his feelings for her so she set him straight. She had to admit that she was definitely new to this situation, and a little worried about how to go about it. She thought about telling him how flattered she was, which was true, but that unfortunately, she liked someone else. She didn't really have a crush on anyone at this point in time, but luckily she wasn't forced to lie.

"Oh, right. Well, um, anyways Malfoy was there and he was holding Ron's books."

She hadn't expected that at all.

"I thought I'd tell you because I was talking to Katie when you left, she's really nice, and she was trying to cheer me up after Crabbe laughed at me because, well, you know, the porridge. Oh, so yea, she was being nice and told me that no one liked them and that you thought Malfoy was up to something and, well, I'm here and telling you," he was rambling, the words tumbling out before he could catch his breath.

The relief she had felt from the realisation that he was not in fact asking her out was quickly replaced by curiosity. She was a little annoyed that Katie had told him about her suspicions, but was glad that Hermione wasn't nearby to say 'I told you so' like she knew she would. Thinking of her brunette friend, she calmed her racing mind.

"Are you positive that he was carrying Ron's books?"

"Oh yea, I would recognise his Herbology book any day; I accidentally spilled some of my potion on it and his Potion's text the other day and the one Malfoy was carrying it had the same stain," he nodded his head, proud to be able to confirm his findings.

"Ok… Did he say what he was doing? Maybe he was just helping him out?" even as she said it she knew it was highly doubtful.

"Well, uh, no, not exactly. He went to hex me but Madame Pomfrey came to see what all the fuss was about. But he was smirking the whole time and I really think he wasn't doing something nice."

"I see. Well, I don't think anything can happen to Ron now, but I'm glad you told me. Hold on for a sec," they had finally reached the dungeons, and Jennifer poked her head around the corner to check that they weren't late. The class were lined up still, and sure enough, Parvati and Lavender were sitting against the cold stone wall talking rapidly and giggling. Perfect. "Ok, I'll make this quick. Neville, I think Malfoy isn't all that…nice. Oh, don't give me that look, you know what I mean. I can trust you, can't I?"

"Of course!"

"Ok, well, I was wondering. Could you, well, this is going to sound weird, but could you keep watch on Malfoy? No, nothing serious, don't worry, I don't mean anything that would get you caught. But could you just keep an eye out on his behaviour?" she watched the boy consider, his face showing a range of emotions from concern to pride as his tongue protruded from his mouth, running over his lips nervously.

"Ok..." he began slowly, "I'll help you. You did help me outside the library after all. But I don't want to get into trouble-"

"You won't."

"And if he finds out?"

"Make something up."

"…Alright, I'll do it." His face depicted his determination as he held his chin higher. The effect was only ruined as he stumbled a little, his foot catching on an uplifted stone tile.

"Thank you. I'd better get to the girls, they'll be wondering where I am," she didn't give him the chance to change his mind, and continued her way on to the open classroom. "Oh, and Neville, is that…is that all you wanted to tell me?"

"Of course, what else?" at the boy's puzzled expression, Jennifer let herself smile. Unfortunately it was short-lived as she entered the quiet classroom.

"Miss. Gold, Mr. Longbottom, how nice of you to finally grace us with your presence. I trust you will have no difficulty in finding your seats, or can you not perform this simple task without getting lost? Fifteen points from Gryffindor for tardiness," Professor Snape drawled before returning his attention to the class.

Jennifer blushed as the majority of Slytherins snickered. Lavender started making kissing faces, pouting her lips comically, as Neville took his seat between Harry and Seamus. If he hadn't just taken points off them, she would have thanked Snape for slamming Lavender's textbook open, causing her to jump out of her seat.

It wasn't until halfway through making her Wiggenwald potion that she received further information about Malfoy.

She was trying to crush some weird mushroom-looking plant in the pestle as Hermione read from the blackboard. The girl had given up on doing all the work, giving Jennifer what she thought was an easy practical task; apparently, she was mistaken. It was just as Jennifer sprayed her friend in some furry yellow powder that both girls jumped away from their cauldron as something solid hit its metal side.

"That wasn't me."

"No, I don't think it was. Could you please pass me my handkerchief? It's under my textbook," Hermione's nose was crinkled as she tried to clean her uniform. She eventually gave up and opted to use her wand, muttering a simple incantation to lift the stains. When she was finished, she looked up at Jennifer, exasperated. "But I do wish you would be more careful."

"Hey, at least it's not what they're doing," she held her hands up in defeat, before directing a finger to the Slytherins at the back of the room.

It wasn't uncommon for the two houses to use Potions as a battleground of sorts. When Snape would conveniently turn his back on the Slytherins to berate another student, they would take the opportunity to torment the Gryffindors. As of late, their tactic was creating a game of throwing ingredients in to their unattended cauldrons, cheering when they scored high 'points' from the smoky destruction of a potion.

"Just ignore them. We don't have much time and I want to finish this." In truth, they still had fifteen minutes before Snape would check on their 'abysmal' efforts, but Jennifer decided that arguing with Hermione would be pointless.

After another minute of hard work, Hermione stood back, smiling proudly. She lifted the ladle out of the cauldron, examining its lime green colour up close.

"I think it could be a little brighter- ouch!"

Hermione rubbed her head, looking around for the culprit. One of the Slytherins had thrown something at her, but she couldn't figure out whom. Jennifer was more quick on the up-take, however, and found the source of her pain. Lying beside their cauldron was a tiny piece of parchment, crumpled up. As she lifted it, she found another almost identical piece.

"What are they?"

"I dunno," she unfurled the first piece of creamy parchment, revealing nothing more than a small pebble wrapped inside. "Just a rock. You've got to admit, they're getting more determined," she tossed it behind her, not sure if the second would be worth opening.

Curiosity got the better of her, however, when Hermione corked their potion in a vial and was presenting it to Professor Snape. She opened up the parchment, finding it absent of any pebbles.

Instead, inside was a short message, written neatly in familiar cursive. She immediately recognised it as belonging to Daphne; this was despite the heading of the small square of parchment, where the title 'A notice from Miss. Daphne Greengrass' spanned across the top. Evidently she had written the note in a hurry, for the bottom of the page was torn.

Jennifer stared at the note, digesting the information.

_'__Don't look up. I have news you might want… meet me after dinner.'_


End file.
